


All in One

by Zozo0_219



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Balcony Scene, Boys Kissing, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Dancing, Estrangement, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Future Fic, Ghosts, Hidden Relationship, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Meet the Family, Pole Dancing, Post-Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), Reunions, Roy and Ed are Engaged, RoyEd Week, RoyEd Week 2018, Royalty, Sickfic, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-06-29 13:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15730023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zozo0_219/pseuds/Zozo0_219
Summary: My contributions to Tumblr Royed Week, 2018!--> Most are set post-2003/ COS, with a few Au exceptions. I just fucking love Roy with an eyepatch.<--Day 1- Fighting/ Making up--> [Ed meets Roy's estranged mother and sisters]Day 2- Celebration/Stillness--> [Roy and Ed visit Trisha Elric's grave, and Roy faces Winry's parents' graves.]Day 3- Canon/Au--> [The Soulmate AU nobody asked for]Day 4- Beginnings/ Endings--> [A Modern Au where Roy's a stripper and Ed is a sexually frustrated tailor]Day 5- Cold/Warmth--> [Kinda steamy Medieval Royalty AU]Day 6- Together/ Apart--> [Military Masquerade Ball post-03 reunion because I'm in denial]Day 7- I gave up on this day lol. My Week'll just end on 6 days I guess.





	1. Day 1: Meet-the-Family (Fighting/Making Up)

**Author's Note:**

> So, this first chapter is very long and fairly dramatic. I'm a slut for meet-the-family fics, so I thought it was high time to contribute my interpretation of Roy's family! Enjoy!

The only things Ed knew for certain about Roy’s family were thus:

1\. He had two living parents, as well as two sisters: Elizabeth and Margery. His father ranked Lieutenant General, a lofty few ranks higher than Roy (a Brigadier General), and Margery, the eldest sister, worked as a history teacher back in their hometown.

2\. A rather unnecessarily loud and violent fight between Roy and his father had resulted in the then teenager’s enlisting as a State Alchemist and quitting communication with his parents and siblings.

Ed had figured this much out about his fiancée about a year previously when the Flame Alchemist had drunkenly (due to a long bar night after a particularly arduous day at HQ) given Ed a long rant concerning the military higher-ups. While not the first of these kinds of intoxicated spiels, Roy rarely made it past the Major Generals before passing out, and, like other such rants, he barely remembered telling Ed these frustrations come morning time. 

With this said, it took Ed a good minute to register who the three women standing at his doorstep were. 

An older woman, black hair streaked with copious wisps of gray, tugged at her thick lace gloves that matched the off-white of her lace cardigan. Her sharp black eyes looked at Ed with mild interest. Behind her, another black-haired lady who appeared roughly Ed’s age held two leather bags, and a woman with lighter brown hair cut stylishly in a slick bob held one as well. Both young women had softer, gray-blue eyes. 

The pristine folds and drapes of the ladies’ dresses made Ed feel a bit frumpy in his own catastrophe of a bun, baggy t-shirt, and sweatpants that he hadn’t changed out of since falling asleep the night previous. 

“Can I help you?” Ed asked, at a loss of what these people would want from him, especially before noon. 

The old woman spoke, her voice as sharp as her gaze, “Does Brigadier General Mustang live here?”

Ed quirked an eyebrow, “Who wants to know?”

The woman’s gaze narrowed, not amused, “His mother.”

The blonde’s eyes widened slightly in realization, noticing now how much the old woman resembled his partner, “Yeah he lives here, but you missed him. He just left for work an hour ago. Come in, I’ll call and tell him you’re here.” Ed gestured inside, and the women filed in, “Hold on.” 

With all three inside, Ed closed the door and strode into the bright kitchen. He spotted the remains of his breakfast sitting on the stove and made a mental note to clean up a bit after his call. 

Quickly dialing Roy’s office number, Riza answered after three rings, “General Mustang’s office”.

“Riza, hi, it’s Ed. I need to talk to Roy, like, now.”

“O-okay, he’s not doing anything right now. Is everything alright?” came her concerned reply. 

“I hope.” Ed said before muffled voices rumbled from the line, and a transferal ‘click’ switched the phone to the one atop Roy’s desk. 

“Ed, what happened?” Roy’s voice was equally as concerned as his Lieutenant’s. 

“Your mom and, I’m guessing, your sisters are here.”

The phone was so quiet that Ed worried for a minute that Roy had hung up on him, “Roy?”

A long sigh came as a reply, followed by an utterly defeated, “I’ll get home as soon as I can. If they ask anything just tell them the truth. Just as a warning, they don’t know I date men.” 

The phone clicked off before Ed could respond. He mumbled, “Thanks for the heads up,” before placing the phone back in its place and returning to the three ladies, who were still standing in the entryway. “He should be back as soon as possible, so make yourselves at home. Just put your bags anywhere. I’m Ed, by the way.” 

Roy’s mother followed Ed back into the kitchen while the two younger ladies rid themselves of their purses. “May I?” she asked with a gesture to one of the oranges piled into the wooden fruit bowl on the counter. 

Ed shrugged, “Help yourself”. 

She thanked him, grabbing a large orange and peeling it tenderly (she was still wearing her lace gloves) as she introduced herself, “My name is Mary, but please call me Mrs. Mustang. My two daughters are Elizabeth and Margery.” Mary motioned to the two women who had just sat at Ed’s and Roy’s small kitchen table. Based on Mary’s gestures, the woman with the bobbed hair and loose-cut, baby blue dress was Margery, and the lady currently braiding her long black hair over her gingham shoulder was Elizabeth. Ed noted a rough scar that stretched from Elizabeth’s left cheek back near her ear as she brushed her hair back. 

“Nice to meet y’all. Roy doesn’t talk much about his life pre-military, so I’ve been curious.” Ed leaned casually against the counter opposite the table, and Mary moved to sit with her daughters. 

Margery made a vague gesture with her hand about the table, “Well, here we are.”

Elizabeth giggled a bit, hands wringing viciously within themselves on the pink fabric of her lap, “So you and Roy are… roommates?”

Ed looked to the side with a grin, “Yeah, something like that. What’s brought on this visit, anyways? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Mary sighed, “Not at all. Elizabeth, would you care to elaborate?”

The youngest sister flushed, her flounced skirt a twisted mess in her hands at this point, “Oh-uh, well, I’m getting married this fall, and I wanted to personally invite Roy, because he deserves to at least know about it. I had to find him, though so… I-uh, kind of used Father’s military badge to sift through communication records. I saw his numbers, but I also saw that there were a lot of calls to an automail clinic in Resembool…” Elizabeth’s words faded to mumbles, her face as red as a beet.

Margery picked up for her, “Lizzie assumed the worst, and we were on the train to Central the next morning. Judging by your arm, though, I assume you’re the one who made all of those calls?”

“…Oh.” Ed was at a momentary loss for words. “… Yeah, my brother’s girlfriend is my mechanic- we grew up in Resembool.” That’s what all of this was about? The Mustang women all looked at Ed, dumbfounded when he broke down into a fit of giggles. It just seemed- in that very moment- like one of those moments in the radio-show dramas Ed had caught Roy listening to when he thought Ed wasn’t home. Of fucking course, Roy would have some uppity family that just needed to come see their dear estranged brother over a tragic misunderstanding. It was just so…HIM. “Fuck, this is priceless.”

Elizabeth, still a lovely shade of red, dragged her hands down her face warily with a groan, “I feel so stupid now, how am I supposed to explain this to Roy?”

Ed grinned through his giggles, “Just tell him what you told me, he’ll understand your stress. I’m guessing you don’t know, but Roy’s also planning a wedding.”

Elizabeth and Mary both yelled a collective, “What?!”, whilst Margery boredly inspected a chip in her pearlescent fingernail polish.

“Mother, Lizzie, you aren’t blind are you?” She asked with a hint of incredulousness in her bored tone, not taking her eyes from her spindly fingers (the narrowness of which she shared with her brother). She made the vaguest of gestures with her head in the direction of Ed, he guessed at the engagement band plainly visible on his non-metal hand.

“Margery, get rid of that tone this instant!” Mary snapped. Her lacy hand was rapidly tapping on the edge of the table so hard that the noise was plainly audible.

“Why should I?” Margery snapped right back, standing with a suddenness that sent her chair loudly back a foot. She turned from the group, muttering her desire for a smoke as she passed Ed to the hallway. After a short rummage, the front door clicked open. However, when Ed expected to hear it shut, all he heard was silence.

Elizabeth seemed to pick up on the inconsistency as well, as she followed Ed to the foyer to inspect. Margery was still standing by the cluster of purses, a cigarette pack clutched in her hand with a matchbox, a mix of a glare and surprise across her face. Her attention was focused towards the open door, where Roy currently stood, fingers still grazing the door handle. His attention was equally focused on his sibling as hers was on him. 

Just as Margery turned her nose with a huff and pushed her way past a still dazed Roy, cigarettes in hand, Elizabeth squealed and nearly jumped on her brother. Her skirt fanned out around the two, as the force of her hug sent she and Roy in a small spin.

“Roy, it’s been so long- you can’t imagine how much I’ve missed- What happened to your eye?! You’re old! And what’s this about you being engaged and not calling me? You know-“ Elizabeth quieted abruptly when, with an arm around the young lady’s shoulders and another atop her head, Roy began to laugh. “What’re you laughing about?”

Roy let go of his sister, giving her cheek a joking poke and still laughing, “No clue.” He responded dismissively, “You haven’t changed, Lizzy.”

Elizabeth scoffed, “You haven’t seen me since I was nine!”

Roy held up his hands in surrender, “That’s not to say I’ve changed at all since I was eighteen.”

“Of course you have! We both have!” The youngest Mustang sibling smacked her bother softly on the arm. 

Roy moved further into the house, taking off his coat and still smiling at Elizabeth, “If you say so.” 

She giggled, and Roy finally looked from his sister to Ed. The blonde noticed in his periphery that Mary had not congregated to the entrance of the foyer like the rest. 

“Why don’t we move this into the living room? Bugs will get in if the door stays open.” Ed commented. Elizabeth agreed, already heading back to the kitchen and through the next door, as instructed. Roy soon followed, but not without a quick kiss to Ed’s amused smile first. Ed slid his hand into Roy’s, meaning to just give his hand a reassuring squeeze. Roy, however, grabbed fully onto Ed’s hand, keeping his skin in contact with Ed as the couple made their way to their living room as well. 

He noticed a lack of Roy’s mother but soon found her standing by the couch with Elizabeth. Through the window, the blue of Margery’s dress moved amongst the many flowers that decorated the backyard. 

Ed slipped his hand from Roy’s before the two ladies looked over. Mary stepped forward, face seemingly blank of emotion. Even though she was considerably shorter than her son, she was still able to clip him upside the head with her right hand, demonstrating considerable force. “Roy Mustang, I cannot believe you!” She angrily scolded over his yelp of surprised pain. 

“What?” He exasperatedly asked. 

“Don’t ‘what’ me, mister! I haven’t spent twenty years worrying about you- only knowing you were alive through newspaper articles to be sassed at!” 

“Well, I was clearly told the next time I stepped foot in the manor that I’d be shot, so what exactly was I supposed to do?” Roy retorted back.

Mary looked taken aback, “And when were you ever one to listen to your father’s blind threats?”

“I’d never been threatened with my life before, Mom.” Roy crossed his arms. 

Mary seemed not to acknowledge her son’s comment, moving on to her next point of contention, “And what’s this about you getting engaged? That never appeared in the papers! Not to mention that you have some roommate when you’re about to be married- it’s totally careless!”

Roy bristled, “That ‘some roommate’s’ name is Ed, and it’s him that I’m engaged to, thank you!”

Ed blushed, looking to the side a bit when Mary and Elizabeth turned their surprised eyes directly upon him. “U-um, newspaper companies aren’t incredibly supportive of guys tying the knot with each other, so we decided not to inform the media. It would have been a threat to our careers as State Alchemists.” Ed explained, finding the wallpaper beside him incredibly fascinating to look at at that moment. 

“I-“ Mary looked back at Roy, anger seemingly burnt out into exasperation. “I didn’t know you… you…”

Roy sighed, his temper gone as well, “There was no way you could have known I’m gay, Mom. I didn’t even know until I left for the military. Its one of the reasons I never came back.”

“Roy, you know I could never be mad at you for that.” Mary stepped close to her son, resting the hand that had previously hit him reassuringly on his arm.   
“I know. It’s not you I was worried about.” Roy replied. 

Ed eyed Elizabeth, finding her watching the scene unashamedly, much like Ed had been doing as well. She looked over at him, noticing his confusion regarding Roy’s dismissive comment, and mouthed ‘father’. Ed nodded his understanding, moving to take a seat with Elizabeth on the couch. 

There was a short silence during which Margery stalked into the room from the garden, silently leaning against the kitchen doorframe. The silence was interrupted by Mary’s blunt, “Tell me what happened to your eye.”

Roy smiled ruefully, sitting on the arm of the sofa nearest Ed, “I was shot in the face. Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?”  
Elizabeth itched her cheek, looking at her brother with sad eyes. Ed could tell there was a piece of the narrative he wasn’t informed of. 

Mary looked horrified, “Was it during that horrid affair with Fürher Bradley? It was all the papers could talk about for weeks! The assassination, and that young Elric boy going missing.”

“Exactly then!” Roy answered, smirking at Ed, “But the ‘young Elric boy’ was found, so I guess it wasn’t all that horrid.”

“’Young Elric boy’ my ass,” Ed mumbled, crossing his arms and lightly head-butting Roy in the arm. His fiancée laughed, whilst Mary gasped. 

“Oh my, you’re Ed Elric? I didn’t recognize you from the papers!”

Ed waved her surprise off dismissively, “I was fifteen, I wouldn’t recognize a picture of me then if I didn’t know myself.”

“Hold on.” Roy interjected, concerned. “Not to sound unwelcoming, but why are you all here in the first place? Did something happen at home?”

Everybody in the room turned to Elizabeth, whose face flushed scarlet again, “Well…” She explained what she had told Edward, this time without Margery’s aid. By the end of her story, Margery had migrated to her sister’s end of the couch, yet to cast a sidelong glance at Roy. 

“… And, well, now we know that the automail isn’t yours, so the whole trip could have been much less sudden if I hadn’t been so nosy. You’re invited to the wedding, anyway.” Elizabeth finished. “You know my fiancée, too. It’s Patrick Crowley- the boy I was best friends with as a little girl.”

“I remember Patrick, he was there the last night I stayed over.” Roy’s eyes darted to the side of Elizabeth’s face quickly. The young lady covered her scar with her hand as he looked. 

“Yes, he was! He came to return some socks that I’d left at his mom’s house the day before. We’d gone swimming in his little stream.” Elizabeth recalled, “I was going to stay the night, but I left early because you’d returned from the front.”

“You shouldn’t have come back.” Margery said. Mary shrieked her disapproval, whilst Elizabeth looked stunned. 

“He was eighteen and traumatized!” Elizabeth said softly.

Margery’s eyes gleamed with aggression, “You were nine and just wanted to wake your brother up! Whose fault is it?”

Ed had been confused before, but when Elizabeth defensively pulled her hair over the scar on her face, he began to understand. 

“It’s been two decades, get over it!” Elizabeth shouted.

“Two decades and the least Roy could do was apologize!” The elder sister shouted back. Mary looked like she wanted to cry.

“How exactly do I apologize when my own father won’t let me into the house without a firearm trained at my head?” Roy was shouting too. He looked at Elizabeth, “Lizzy, it was an accident. I love you and the event has been keeping me up at night for more than half of my life. I’m sorry.”

Margery rolled her eyes, “Well isn’t that just the most sincere apology I’ve ever heard.”

“You put me on the spot!”

Mary, seemingly unable to stand the anger in the room, grabbed Ed by the arm and pulled him off of the couch, “You three- sort this out without killing each other. I can’t stand to see you fight after so long apart! Edward, you’re coming with me.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Ed yelped as he was dragged, rather violently, from the room. “Mrs. Mustang, why don’t we go to the garden?”

Mary stopped her stomping through the kitchen, looking back at Ed, “Yes, please. I’d like you to tell me about yourself since you plan on marrying my son.”  
“Yeah, sure.” Ed replied rather inarticulately. 

He led Mary out the front door and around the side of the house, into the large backyard. The garden lay at the back end of the yard, and during the current spring season was flourishing with flowers he and Winry had planted during her last visit. A small bench sat under an old tree, directly in the noontime shade. They sat there.

Mary took a deep breath, sighing it out as if she hadn’t exhaled all day, “What a mess. Your garden is beautiful.” 

Ed rubbed his neck, mentally counting up the weeds that needed to be uprooted amongst the daffodils, “We keep it up when we can. Roy’s mentioned that you’re big on gardening.”

Mary smiled, most likely picturing her own flower patch, “I am. Does your mother garden?”

Ed laughed, “Mom couldn’t keep a plant alive for the life of her. She liked knitting kinda stuff.”

Mary seemed to pick up on the past tense, and changed the subject, “So Resembool- that’s a far step from Central. What made you move?”

“Oh, I’m a State Alchemist, but it’s more research-type work than what Roy does.” Ed tried to ignore the ‘thump’ that sounded a ton like a book hitting a wall from inside the house, instead plowing forward, “Yeah, living in Resembool was nice as a kid, but it’s too still for me now. Not enough action.”

Mary nodded, and a short silence fell over the two. Ed broke it tentatively, “Did… Roy hurt his sister?”

Roy’s mother took a deep breath, letting it out through her nose, “It was an accident like Roy said back in the living room. He had left the battlefront only days before returning home, and as you can guess he was pretty shaken up. His father didn’t want him coming back, as their fight was still ongoing, but one look at Roy changed his mind. He was haunted and needed a familiar place.   
“He was overjoyed to be back. I’d never seen him so eager to hug his sisters- Elizabeth especially. You know, he and Lizzy were always very close, despite being the furthest part age-wise. She was quite a tomboy, and Roy was always willing to help her dig up worms and such.   
“Roy fell asleep sometime in the late afternoon, and I had told Margery and Elizabeth to let him rest, but I guess Elizabeth wanted to play with him. I… I should have known, with a General as a husband, that young veterans tend to keep firearms near them while they sleep.” Mary paused, looking at her gloved hands as she finished her story, “He ran the second Elizabeth was carted into the ambulance. All I found was a note of apology on his pillow the next day.”

“You didn’t look for him?” Ed asked. Mary’s story had proven Ed’s previous theory, but he was still slightly dumbfounded.

“How? George, my husband, wanted nothing to do with him after that, and I didn’t know anybody who would know where he’d go. Later, of course, he began appearing in the papers as some kind of conniving rank climber.” Mary’s tone had turned more annoyed than its previous sad.

Ed nodded, “He really made a name for himself back then. Too bad now all they call him is ‘the one who killed Bradley’. A fucking waste of effort.”

Mary looked at Ed curiously, “You were a State Alchemist back then too.”

Ed shrugged, “Yeah, I was. That’s how I met Roy- he was my Commanding Officer when I was a teenager.”

“You were a teenager when you disappeared, and my son was almost thirty, isn’t that right?” Mary stated, more than asked. 

“Yeah,” he said quickly. While their age difference didn’t particularly matter to Ed, Roy had been disturbed about that aspect of their relationship in the beginning. That issue had required various very carefully worded (as well as very blunt, Ed-style) conversations. 

“Edward, you haven’t given me any reason to doubt you, but you have to see how that looks to a mother.” 

“I-yeah, I know how it looks. My little brother had a really long and unnecessary…talk… with us when I told him.” Ed replied, remembering how Al had put on his most parently expression, and Roy had left the room an hour later mildly terrified. 

“Your little brother gave you the ‘marrying someone older’ talk?” Mary asked in disbelief, “it would make more sense for you to give him the dating talk.”  
“That’s what I told him!” Ed exclaimed. 

Mary laughed. It was a quiet, fluttery sort of laugh, but it sounded nice after the tension Ed had felt since the arrival of Roy’s female family members. 

A thought flashed into Ed’s head, “Why didn’t the Lieutenant General come with you guys, by the way?”

Mary waved her hand absently, “You answered your own question. He’s not in a position to leave work at the drop of a hat.”

At that moment, the back door slammed open and Elizabeth popped her head out, “Come in, we’ve reached a truce!”

“After how much property damage?” Mary mumbled. Ed snorted, not expecting such a dry comment from the dainty woman. They stood and moved back into the house. Ed was a bit wary to see the state of his living room but was surprised to find it generally in order, save for a few books lying haphazardly open against walls. Roy and Margery were sitting beside each other not entirely comfortably, well-wiped eyes and resigned looks on both siblings’ faces.

“Oh good, you didn’t kill each other.” Ed commented, picking up a few of the books, folding their pages back to normalcy, and returning them to their respective tables. 

“Just each other’s pride.” Elizabeth added. Margery grumbled what might have been a half-assed retort had she spoke loud enough to be heard. 

Roy stood decisively, making his way towards the phone and addressing his mother, “Stay for lunch, we can catch up a bit.”

Mary smiled, “That’s a lovely idea. Can you cook?”

“He can’t for shit- I’ll do it.” Ed volunteered. 

“If you wouldn’t mind, Ed, I’d like to help.” Margery offered. Ed suspected that she probably just wanted to have time away from her brother to reflect on the new progressions in their broken relationship. He was also, in a way, separating from the two more vibrant women in order to mentally prep for the inevitable onslaught of questions and talks in his near future, not to mention questions about the wedding, and if they could make it to either considering both were taking place so soon to each other. 

“Sure, knock yourself out.” He replied. As the eldest sister migrated to the kitchen, and the two other ladies moved to the small dining room beside it, Roy pulled Ed aside slightly. 

His fiancée sighed, leaning against Ed a bit, “I’m sorry you’ve been kind of in the middle of all of this.”

Ed shook his head, “Don’t be- it’s not your fault. We’ll talk about everything tonight, ‘kay?” He patted Roy on the cheek after seeing the small smile and affirmative ‘okay’, and went to join Margery in the kitchen.

While Ed would never have guessed an hour ago that he’d be cooking lunch for his future in-laws at that moment, he was content for the time to get to know these women and learn more about Roy that way. They would, indeed, have to have a talk about not being secretive probably. After all, it was occupational necessity that Roy know all of Ed’s childhood- it’s hardly fair that Ed not receive some payback (even if during his teen years, both Ed and Roy could not have guessed they’d end up engaged). 

Ed smiled a bit as he heard Roy’s laughter from the dining room, following Elizabeth’s chirpy voice. It was a big step- reconciliation. But it was one Ed was willing to stand by Roy through.

Because that’s what love is, really. 

~END~


	2. Day 2- Celebration/Stillness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy and Ed visit Trisha Elric's grave, and Roy faces Winry's parents' graves. The ghosts of Trisha Elric and Sarah Rockbell contemplate the relationship.

Trisha Elric sat boredly atop her gravestone, absentmindedly poking her foot through a dandelion, when she noticed two figures walk through the gates of the small countryside cemetery. She immediately recognized the first person as her eldest son, Ed, but the other she didn’t recognize. 

“Sarah, Edward’s here!” She called to her old friend, who had been talking up an elderly lady (who had died ages before the both of them) named Ramona. 

“Took him long enough!” Sarah replied, “Who’s that with him?”

Trisha shrugged, “Beats me.” She inspected the second man better once the duo was closer to her grave. His dark hair almost obscured a dark eye-patch from the distance the two were still at, and he walked a respectful few steps behind Edward as they made their way closer to Trisha. 

Ed was wearing a normal white button down and brown waistcoat (for once). Trisha thought the look was rather charming and much better than that ghastly red cloak he had worn throughout his entire adolescence (if she’d been alive, Trisha would have burnt the hideous garment along with those obscene leather pants long ago). Trisha also noted how much Ed’s brown trench coat made him look like Hohenheim. 

The two finally made it to the Elric mother’s graveside. Ed laid down a bouquet he’d been carrying by the gravestone; it was full of pink and violet flowers that Trisha recognized as the local florist Martha’s prized spring combination. The blonde turned when he noticed the other man straggling along.

“Roy, hurry the shit up, it’ll be sunset soon!”

Roy, Trisha assumed, sighed through a small smile, “I’m barely two yards behind you, Ed.” His voice was deeper than her son’s, and she realized as he came to a stop beside Ed that he had to be a good bit older than her son as well. He held two smaller bouquets in one hand, the other rested lightly in his pocket.

Trisha hopped off of her grave, choosing to stand in front of the two as she noticed in her periphery Sarah coming towards her.

“He’s familiar, don’t you think?” Winry’s mother asked.

Trisha frowned, shaking her head, “I’ve never seen him before. Edward called him Roy.”

“Roy, huh? Maybe he’s one of those Central city-men; that’s where Edward lives, right?” Sarah asked. Trisha nodded.

Ed glanced sidelong at Roy, smirking, “Can’t keep up walking half a mile? Your age is really starting to take its toll.”

Roy rolled his eyes, “Maybe I enjoy taking in the scenery while I walk.”

Ed snorted, “That’s what old people do.”

“It’s what people who know how to appreciate days-off do, thank you.” 

Ed smiled fondly, “Sure, keep believing that.” Trisha couldn’t help but notice the warmth with which the taller man smiled as he shrugged in response to Ed’s snarky remark. 

Both Trisha and Sarah were caught off-guard when, having stood from placing his bouquet down, Ed tugged Roy’s arm out of his pocket and entwined his fingers with the other man’s, the newly-captured appendage quick to comply. It was also at this point, when Trisha actually paid attention to the duo’s (couple’s?) hands that she noticed the matching rings around their left ring-fingers. 

Trisha was speechless, but she knew that Sarah had noticed as well, as she began to hit Trisha’s arm excitedly with the back of her hand, “Oh my God, Trish, do you see it?!”

The brunette woman grabbed at the neck of her apron, eyes affixed to the metal bands, “My little boy’s got a…”  
A what? Fiancée? Husband? Friend with benefits? City people do those kinds of things, right?

“Hey Mom,” Ed greeted awkwardly, which Trisha understood. It’s hard to talk seriously to a rock, especially with another person in your midst. Ed gestured vaguely behind him, “That’s Roy, he’s a bastard but I’m marrying him in a quarter of a year. Yeah, I don’t know why either.”

Trisha would have been worried about Ed’s words, had she not, firstly, known about Ed’s snarky side and, secondly, seen the amused eye-roll Ed’s fiancée directed towards him. 

Having broken the initial awkward atmosphere, Ed settled down into his usual graveyard visit rambling about his work- a research job within the military- which Trisha didn’t follow amazingly, but loved to hear anyways, just to listen to her son’s happy voice. It hadn’t been happy or relaxed for many years, so just to see Ed able to ramble without worries lifted years of anxiety off of Trisha’s heart. 

While Ed talked, Trisha took this time to examine her future son-in-law. Roy seemed quiet, or maybe just giving Ed his space to do his thing, and his adoring gaze almost never left Ed (so much, in fact, that Ed turned around and lightly slapped Roy’s arm, calling him a ‘sappy old man). 

Compared to Ed, Trisha noted, Roy was rather old. He couldn’t be older than Trisha, but if she had to guess, the dark-haired man was at least in his adolescence when Ed was born. ‘It’s no matter’ Trisha reminded herself, ‘Edward is an adult, and Hohenheim was a fair few hundred years old when you married him, so who are you to talk?’  
Trisha kept observing the soon-to-be addition to her little family.  
As his eye slowly peeled from Ed to observe his surroundings, Trisha saw a near-nervousness overcome his mannerisms. He began to bounce his fingers against the bouquets in his one hand, whilst rubbing his fingers together in the other. His fond expression even dimmed a little as he scanned each gravestone around Trisha’s. His eyes and fidgets seemed to stop abruptly at the Rockbells’ graves, which sat directly behind Trisha’s. 

Sarah, from beside Trisha seemed to give Roy the same scrutinizing gaze as Trisha, whilst Urey, who sat atop his wife’s stone, gazed elsewhere.

Sarah shook her head, “I just can’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen him before.”

Trisha hummed, noticing that Ed was finishing up his talking. She stepped forwards, patting her son lightly on the shoulder (even though he couldn’t see her). He smiled wistfully and turned to Roy. Tiptoeing, Ed gave Roy a quick cheek-kiss, winning him a forehead kiss in return. 

“Take your time- I’ll see you back at Winry’s, okay?” Ed said, squeezing Roy’s forearm.

“Okay,” Roy repeated, smiling down at his fiancée. He stood still until Ed passed the gates of the graveyard, watching his figure disappear amongst the rolling hills of Resembool. 

Instead of taking his own turn talking to Trisha, as she’d expected, Roy moved past her grave (not without a sad smile) to the two directly behind hers- The Rockbells. 

\----

When Sarah first saw the black-haired man beside Edward, she was absolutely sure she’d seen him somewhere before. She definitely didn’t recognize the eye patch, but she’d been dead a while- anything could happen. What she did recognize was his remaining eye that matched the darkness of his hair. If only she could place the face to the eye…

It clicked when, despite having come to the graveyard for Ed’s sake, Roy took a detour from Trisha’s grave towards her own, two small bouquets in hand. He knelt down at the foot of her and Urey’s graves, setting the bouquets gently against either. 

Urey, who had previously been zoned out atop Sarah’s grave, stood confusedly, “Sarah, do you know him?” He pointed to Roy.

Trisha spoke, equally perplexed, “He’s Edward’s fiancée.”

Urey looked surprised, “I didn’t know Ed swung that way.”

“No.” Sarah interjected, eliciting silence from the other two. She knelt down in front of Roy, who had yet to rise from his knees. He looked distantly at the stones, previously peaceful face transformed with new lines of remorse and mild terror. It was the terror in his eye that she recognized most of all. “Urey, your back was turned. You were folding bandages in our makeshift tent. You didn’t get a chance to turn around when he came in. I looked at him- that’s why he hesitated the second time.” 

“The second time?” Trisha asked. Urey had gone still.

“…The second time he fired his gun.”

“Oh my God…” Trisha gasped.

“He’s the kid? Are you sure?” Urey rested his hand atop Sarah’s shoulder. 

Her voice shook a bit, “I’m positive. Back then- his expression- you can’t replicate utter horror so accurately unless you felt it.”

It was true. The longer Roy sat crouched in front of the graves, the more distant and jarringly haunted his gaze became. He didn’t seem to really process the growing darkness around them, although everything around them seemed to grow tired and fall asleep, stilling with the lessening light. 

The three ghosts stood in silence. Trisha looked very consternated, like her mind was waging a battle against its other half. Urey stood behind his wife, a spark of anger somewhere deep down unable to rise fully to the surface, as the man, hunched in front of them all, simply looked so pitiful it was hard for Winry’s father to feel much more than exhausted wariness. Had Roy shown up years previously, then he maybe could have let that spark of anger fester into a flame, but he’d been dead for upwards of two decades.

Sarah gazed into Roy’s distantly staring face, although the deepening dusk made it hard to discern sharp details on him. 

She had also been angry, earlier on. She had been angry with Roy for taking them her away from her daughter, at the military for giving orders to execute neutrals, and with Urey and herself for leaving Winry and Pinako behind for that stupid war. 

Sarah had seethed behind her phantasmal tears during her own funeral, unable to hold Winry as she cried her heart out, and for years afterward. Her anger had tempered slightly when Trisha joined them, and her heart’s anger was drowned out by sympathy.  
She watched when Trisha, panicked, had screamed wildly at her sons when Ed suggested they bring her back to life, and when she merely dropped to her knees in disbelief a few years later as a two-limbed Ed returned to her graveside, carried by a suit of armor whose voice resembled Al’s. 

Now, as Sarah sat directly in front of the man that killed her, she was surprised to find herself not feeling as angry as she had imagined she would. By this time, the sun had pretty much completely set, so only the large moon and speckles of stars made out any indication of the man’s features. 

\------

It had to have been at least an hour since Ed had left. Roy was in the same position as he had been at the start, but Sarah and Urey were sitting atop their respective graves now. Trisha sat in between them. Ironically, the Elrics’ mother seemed the most uncomfortable about Roy.

“Edward has to have known that his fiancée is your executioner. I’m just saying, how much of a kindred spirit could he really be? He could have refused to kill you, but he didn’t!” Trisha vented. 

“He was young back then, Trish. They probably threatened him with his own death. I saw soldiers on both sides, nobody really expects war to be just as horrifying as it really is. You can’t really use a decade-old war to define the life of someone who survived it.” Urey said back.

“I can be concerned for my son’s marital choices, though.” Trisha stood back up when a lantern’s light appeared over the crest of the hill that opened up into the graveyard. 

As the light grew closer, Sarah could see Ed’s features illuminated by the glow.  
Ed reached Roy and crouched quietly beside him, setting down the lantern in front of them both. The sudden light seemed to shake Roy from his stupor a bit, as he turned his head, blinking, towards his fiancée.

“Dinner’s just about ready, and you’ve been here a while. I was getting worried.” Ed stated.

“I’m sorry,” Roy said back.

Ed shook his head, “Don’t be, I get it.”

It was Roy’s turn to shake his head, “You haven’t had to experience a battlefront like Ishbal. There wasn’t any reason for all the death- it just was. To keep living with yourself you had to strip off any kind of empathy or relativity. I had killed before the Rockbells, but they were both the first people not decidedly against us I was ordered to shoot. I argued with General Grand, because they weren’t just helping Ishballan soldiers, but our men as well. None of it was right, but their deaths were the least right- least justified.”

“Well, Mr. Fürher, sir,” Ed said whilst he stood up, Roy soon to follow, “Now you can make sure we don’t have another war like Ishbal.”

Before Ed could crouch back down to pick up the lantern, Roy pulled him into a tight hug, “Thanks.”

Ed smiled, wrapping his arms over Roy’s, “Whatever.”

After a second, Roy pulled himself away from his fiancée, picking up the discarded lantern and grabbing onto one of the blonde’s hands instead, “I guess we should go back before the food gets too cold. What is the food, anyways?”

Ed shrugged as they began to walk away from the graves, “I don’t know, but it smelled really good.”

Their voices grew incomprehensibly fainter they further from the graves they became. The land stood quiet and still behind them; not even an owl hooted its presence. Trisha, Sarah, and Urey remained how they had been, non-contributive to the stillness around them. Mildly wary and filled with new questions, they watched the lantern light bob around the hills and fade away into night. 

[END]


	3. Day 3: Soulmate AU (Canon/AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The post- '03 Fix it fic/ Soulmate Au nobody asked for

Soulmates.   
Everybody since the beginning of humanity had one, according to any historian that mattered in Amestris. In any etiquette class, children learned the importance of keeping a soulmark hidden from the public eye because of its private sacredness. For most, this was a fairly simple feat, as the soulmark usually resided on the chest, stomach, or upper arm area. However, for some, this proved to be a struggle.

For Roy Mustang, the struggle was very real. His soulmark rested squarely on the top of his right hand. It wasn’t a small mark, either. The mark was a very intricate alchemical-looking design, runes and all. All his life, except for when he was very young, Roy had had to wear gloves out in public, as his family was of the strictly traditional variety. No manner of soulmark was acceptable to be seen by anyone but it’s owner and their soulmate. 

When he and Maes joined the military, he was less under the scrutiny of his parents. Therefore, he could have, by all means, shed the gloves and rebelled against his childhood structure. However, he found fire alchemy rather convenient when applied to a spark-inducing fabric, so gloves became his defining feature as a State Alchemist. 

Only now, as Mustang sits in his cabin in the middle of a snowy wasteland with no will to perform the alchemy that he loved, does Roy shed the gloves to stare blankly at his soulmark. They say that, no matter what, soul mates will find each other eventually. There had been no record in Amestrian history of one person with a soulmark not finding their match. Roy chuckled grimly at the notion that he may very well be the first. 

\----------------

Edward Elric hadn’t needed to worry about hiding his soulmark- it was on his chest. He thought his mark looked really cool, as it was pretty much a transmutation circle. No, his qualms lay with everyone around him being so damn fortunate with their soulmates, while he was stuck wondering. 

Al and Winry had known that they shared a soulmark since the second Al was born. Their mark was one of the simpler ones- a small heart shape with a considerably intricate set of swirls encasing it. Al’s was on the side of his waist and Winry’s was on her ankle- both very easily concealable, not that it mattered much. For the residents of Resembool, farming was simply more important than the utmost adherence to the confines of etiquette. As a child, Ed couldn’t care less about the array-like design shared by only one other.

However, when he became a teenager, Ed liked to think about who could be on the other end of the metaphorical string that tied he and his soulmate together. Of course, getting Al’s body back was completely more important, but if he were on a train or drowning out Mustang’s complaints about his ‘poor conduct’, Ed would imagine who his soulmate might be. 

In Munich, and throughout the other world Ed ended up in, soulmarks didn’t exist. 

Ed had figured this out when, after taking a shower, he was reconnecting his Hohenheim-made automail. Alfons Heiderich had walked in and commented on how he had an ‘interesting tattoo’ on his chest.

Ed was very confused, as he had assumed his friend would understand that it was a soulmark, but he didn’t correct him out of the fear of humiliation. Later, after conducting a series of little researches, Ed came to the understanding that people in that world simply found permanent love connections on their own, with no assistance from fate (as if this strange dream-world couldn’t get any stranger). 

\----

~Winter, 1919~

It snowed violently up North. Roy’s fire was dwindling, and he had been saving his firewood, as anything outside would be far too wet to use. He was on the second-to-last log of the night, sitting very close to the dying flames with his half-assed attempt at soup in a bowl beside him. 

The wind howled so viciously that he barely heard the weak knock at his door and the muffled, “Help, please!” of a tired, pained voice.

When he did hear, however, he stood up quickly to save whoever it was from the wild storm. 

The doorknob’s chill bit against his bare hands as he yanked the door open, allowing a bundled-up figure to practically fall into the house. 

At his feet, bleeding in various places and shivering violently, lay Edward Elric. The blonde’s eyes were clenched shut from pain, and he was grabbing at the top of his automail shoulder like he wanted to rip it off. 

“Edward!” Roy exclaimed, shutting the door immediately and sitting down to inspect what had happened to his former subordinate. 

Ed only responded with a series of groans, clearly losing consciousness. Roy panicked, as he really had never been in a snow accident situation in his entire time at the post (nobody every really tried to act out, favoring a warm lick of chimney fire at home). He took Ed’s jacket and waistcoat off of him, revealing the places where blood seeped through his white shirt. 

Recognizing that the cold floor was probably not the best place to unclothe a freezing, passed out person, Roy picked up Ed’s unconscious form and brought him to his bed, which sat a mere few steps from his fireplace. 

He parted from the bed only to hastily grab two towels and place them next to the fireplace to warm them. His first aid set was under the bed, so Roy got straight to work. At this point, Roy took Ed’s shirt off too, only feeling the mildest bit of discomfort at the thought (because it was an emergency and he was a mature-ass man, damn it!). 

He noticed three things. One, Ed had a huge scar through the center of his stomach, as if he’d been impaled. Roy could only imagine what trouble Ed had quietly caused in the near four years of absence. Second, he had many large-ish gashes, bleeding profusely, and the skin around his metal automail port looked like it was close to frostbite. The third thing Roy only noticed after he had wiped away a smear of blood from Ed’s chest. It was Ed’s soulmark- it matched his own. However much this may have completely shocked him in any other setting, Roy managed to block out this last information until a more appropriate time to freak out.

This time came about half an hour later, when at last, Ed was patched up well enough to not die, and his leg and arm ports were covered by the heated towels to prevent further skin damage. 

Now, Roy freaked out. He walked back into the wall on the opposite end of the room, holding his head in his hands. Slowly, he slid to the ground, still cupping his forehead with one hand. He brought his right hand down shakily to look at his own soulmark. ‘Shit,’ he thought to himself. 

Now, before their final parting those years ago, Roy had begun to develop some kind of feeling for Ed, but he passed it off as respect- at most a parental worry for the teen. He had let that idea fester around in his mind every day, his guilt for not being there to save Ed when he needed saving growing every day. He tortured himself with the images of Ed living a happier life with an in-the-flesh Al- an image that may have been possible if he had made it to them in time.

Eventually, about a few months ago, Roy had admitted it to himself- he had fallen for Ed. He had fallen far into the deep and bramble- ridden hole that is love.

\-----------

Ed woke up. Forget that he was in a barely comfortable bed wrapped in bandages and hot towels. He had woken up- that came as quite a surprise. He, upon opening his eyes, faced a wall. It appeared that he was wearing his own boxers and also a long-sleeved sweatshirt belonging to someone several sizes larger than he. He also noted that his hair had been loosened from its ponytail that he was positive he’d had in when he’d landed in the snowy land. 

His chest hurt- a lot. It was the open wounds, he knew, but that didn’t make slowly turning around to get a better view of his surroundings any easier. Once he was laying on his other side, he was met with the sight of a large room. The room, he guessed, acted as the whole house, as there was a small kitchenette and table on the other side of the room. Beside the bed, a dwindling fire crackled, and a window behind Ed cast mid-morning light onto his blankets. Next to him was a bed stand, which held a tray, which in turn held a bowl of soup, a cup of milk (ew), a spoon, and a notecard. Maneuvering himself into a sitting position, Ed picked up the note first. 

It read:

Edward,  
The soup and milk are your breakfast- finish all of it (even the milk). I have a patrol to go through and a ration to collect, but I trust that you won’t reopen any gashes eating soup. Please don’t, that’d be a mess to clean up.

 

“Not drinking that damn milk.” Ed muttered, setting it aside and bringing the tray to his lap. He had swallowed down the first spoonful of the (okay at best) soup before he realized that it was rather strange that whoever wrote the letter to him knew his name and of his hatred for milk. He also recognized the neat, cursive-like handwriting, but couldn’t place the person to whom it belonged. 

Looking around the cabin and out the window, Ed recognized that he was in a very snowy part of Amestris, probably up North. The problem was, he didn’t know anybody who lived up North, but this person was hinting at a relatively close relation to him. There were no pictures on the walls, nor were there any items that would hint at an identity. 

The best he got was a blue military jacket that hung on a peg by the door, but it bore no bars or stars of rank. An enlisted man. Any military Ed knew was typically higher-up, as he was stuck in various headquarters for most of his military-personnel encounters (usually to receive lectures/ assignments from Mustang).

“Wait, holy shit!” Ed exclaimed, nearly dropping his soup as he had a minor epiphany. He grabbed the note, looking at it very carefully. Sure enough, the handwriting was exactly like that detailing his assignments, the same handwriting that he threw away the second he left HQ. It was Roy Mustang’s handwriting, undoubtedly. However, it seemed… tilted… somehow, and it was strange that Mustang would refer to him as anything but ‘Fullmetal’ (even though Ed wished he would call him so many other things that were much less formal). 

Ed put down the note, taking in with new eyes the sadness of his surroundings. 

Before Ed could make any new major observations, the door opened. The wind howled ferociously around Mustang as he pushed a large box (supposedly rations) into the room, slamming the door behind him. He quickly took off his thick overcoat and blue jacket before walking quickly towards the fire, which had gone down significantly. Placing one log down, he pulled out a box of matches and struggled to light one with his frozen fingers. 

Ed quirked an eyebrow, “Why don’t you just use your alchemy?”

Roy jumped and looked around, revealing to Ed that the older man’s right eye was covered with a dark eye patch. Roy remembered Ed was there and sighed, “I gave up on that with my demotion four years ago.”

Ed frowned, “Why’d you get demoted all the way to Enlisted Man?”

Roy quirked his visible eyebrow, “People don’t like it when someone assassinates their Fürher.”

“But Bradley was a homunculus!” Ed retorted.

“They saw me walk out of his burning mansion carrying Bradley’s dead son and assumed the worst. Plus, who’d believe that? The only other person who’s seen the homunculi are you and Al, and Al can’t remember anything before he was nine.” Roy said.

Ed’s eyes widened, “He can’t?”

Roy shook his head, “The last thing he remembers is your transmutation going wrong when you tried to resurrect your mother. Other than that, he’s just fine and completely in the flesh. He’s about the only person who believed you were still alive.”

As Roy explained this, he had relit the fire and it was steadily growing. He took off his gloves without a second thought, as it had become custom in the cold cabin. What he neglected to remember was the soulmark that was now in Ed’s direct view. Ed could make out the dark curves and lines that made up their marks, even from the distance they sat.

He froze, shocked. In a way, it was too good to be true, considering that Ed had pretty much had a thing for Mustang since his hormones had begun to kick in. Ed recognized at that moment that, because he could feel bandages against his chest, Roy must have seen his own mark while Ed was unconscious. 

Wincing against the pain his gashes caused, Ed sat up in Roy’s bed and made as if to get up. Roy noticed this, immediately stood, and all but pushed Ed back into the bed. “You’re really hurt, Ed. Don’t try walking around yet.”

Ed took advantage of their closeness to grab Roy’s hand and stare intently at the mark, making absolutely sure it matched his. Undoubtedly, every line and curve was the exact identical to the mark on his own chest. He looked up at Roy with wide eyes, finding the dark-haired man looking at his hand clasped between automail and skin with an expression close to sadness, or maybe acceptance. 

“Roy,” Ed breathed, expression still shocked, “You’re…”

Roy didn’t respond, but he looked like he was trying to contain the very last fiber of his emotions inside of him. When Ed reached up with his real hand to touch Roy’s face he could feel how strained his muscles were to keep his expression neutral. Ed turned Roy’s face so that their eyes met. 

Roy looked to the side, resting his hand atop the one on his cheek. Not trusting himself with speaking, Roy hoped that his silence would be enough because it would tear him apart to have to spill his heart out to Ed right now. He went for the next best option.

The hand that rested atop Ed’s was shaking slightly as, after a final, decisive breath, Roy leaned down a bit and caught Ed lips in his own as the blonde was lifting his face upwards with similar intent. It was chaste, nothing much more than a graze, and Ed’s lips were chapped and cold, and it sent sparks of heat wildly through Roy’s body. 

Instead of letting the kiss go any further, however, Roy moved his head back, receiving a small pout from his soulmate. Looking back at Ed, Roy saw eyes filled with wonder and a smile poorly masked behind his pout which, if not hidden, would probably match the one Roy felt tugging at his own cheeks. Their hands had moved to the general proximity of Roy’s shoulder.

Roy lifted his hand into Ed’s loose hair, ruffling it a bit, “You barely ate any of the soup.”

Ed laughed, “You’re a sucky cook.” 

“Hey!” Roy mocked great offense, “It’s not like the outpost provides the most amazing ingredients to Enlisted Men.”

The blonde chuckled absentmindedly, moving his automail hand up to trace the area where Roy’s eye patch rested against his cheek. The metal was warm after its long exposure to the hot towels underneath the thick blankets. Not necessarily wanting to delve into the subject of his missing eye, Roy stood, Ed’s hands sliding loosely to hold either of Roy’s wrists. “Go ahead and eat, I’ll call Miss Rockbell. I can’t say Al will be there- he’s taken up adventuring around Amestris like you did.”

Roy could see the concern lurking in the back of Ed’s gaze, but he complied, reluctantly moving his hand from where they had slid, “Fuck, I’m so relieved Al’s body’s back. Don’t know what I’d have done if I came back and he was still in that damn armor.”

Roy smiled, knowing that if the transmutation had failed Ed would just keep working to fix it. He strode across the room to the wall-mounted telephone. It had just begun to snow not-violently-enough for the phone lines to thaw a fraction, but even that was enough for a few calls a week. Looking quickly through his little phone book, he came across the hastily scribbled-down number of the Rockbell’s automail shop. He remembered Winry’s awkward visit to his hospital room the days directly after the coup against Bradley. She’d given him the shop’s number (in case he got any information about Edward) without looking at his face, and left as soon as she could. Not that he could blame her, mind. 

The phone rang twice before the other line clicked open, “Rockbell automail mechanics, how may I help you?” Winry’s voice droned through the earpiece.

“Winry? It’s Mustang.” Roy greeted. 

Her voice turned uneasy, “Is it Al?”

Roy chuckled, “So he’s gone off again, has he?” On a few occasions, Winry had called Roy, asking frantically if her soulmate had somehow wound up in the North. On only one occasion had he actually been there. Roy continued, “No, actually, it’s the other brother who’s wound up in my cabin this time.”

He had to hold the receiver away from his ear so that Winry’s scream wouldn’t give him one less sensory organ, “OH MY GOD! ED’S THERE?”

“Yes, he’s been hurt, but just as troublesome as ever.” Roy commented, smirking at Ed when he heard the ‘Hey!’ from his bed. “He arrived last night.”

“Where’s he been? Can I talk to him? Are trains able to come close to your station with the snow?” Winry asked.

“Trains just re-opened last week, and if you give me a moment I’ll get Ed over here.” Roy answered. He heard Winry’s ‘of course!’ as he rested the receiver on the small table under the telephone. Roy turned to see Ed already standing wobbly, holding onto a bedpost with a mildly consternated look on his face. Roy quickly came to the blonde’s aid, slipping an arm around Ed’s shoulders. Ed flushed a powder-pink shade but otherwise complied in leaning against Roy, using his soulmate as a human crutch from one side of the small cabin to the other. 

When they reached the phone, Ed sat atop the table, but entwined his flesh fingers with Roy’s marked hand, thusly anchoring the Enlisted Man near his side. 

Over the phone, Roy could hear Winry’s tearful and overjoyed words of welcome to her best friend, and he could practically see the joy radiating off of Edward as he reconnected with Winry. He told her that it would be easier to explain his long absence in person, which definitely piqued Roy’s curiosity. 

Now that he’d calmed down enough to contemplate it, Roy had to wonder: Where had Ed been all these years? And why had he shown up in the one part of Amestris Roy was pretty sure the young Alchemist had never actually been to during his time in the military?

As Roy’s thoughts carried him further from the situation, Ed laughed and bid Winry adieu with a promise to see her soon. Roy heard the phone’s receiver slide into its holder on the wall before a metal finger poked him on the cheek under his working eye, “Arschloch, hey, you still here? Winry said she could probably get here in two days if the snow clears up further west.”

“… What did you just call me?” Roy asked confusedly, never having heard the (coming from Ed, he could only assume) expletive.

Ed paused, equally confused, rethinking what he’d said, “You’ve never been called an asshole before? That’s a fucking lie.”

“You said ‘arsh-lock’, not asshole.”

Realization dawned on Ed’s face, “Damn, I didn’t even notice.” He turned on the little table so that his gaze was downward from Roy’s face. The hand that held his tightened a bit, “Where I was- a country called Deutschland- they spoke a different language. Seems I’ve become fluent.”

Roy could sense Ed’s discomfort, so he intervened, “If you don’t want to talk about it, just wait until Winry gets here- you need to get back to bed, anyways, let’s do tha-“   
Ed pulled Roy into another kiss, effectually silencing him. There was a fire in this kiss that had been lacking in their first. Ed pulled Roy flush to his body, wrapping both arms behind the older man’s neck. Roy kissed Ed back intently, their lips hot against each other in the cold air of the cabin. His hands landed on either side of Ed’s waist, careful not to disturb the blonde’s bandages. 

The sparks that Roy felt with the first kiss returned with a vengeance, and he had trouble concentrating on what was going on around him. All he could focus on were the points at which he and Ed touched- namely the lips. While definitely not the best kiss he’d ever received (or given, he’d guess) it was with Ed. What the blonde lacked in experience, he made up with fervor and emotion, which was more than Roy could have expected from the young alchemist. 

Roy pulled away first, resting their foreheads together while he let his heart rate calm slightly. 

Ed sighed impatiently, “I know, I know, I’m too hurt and shit to do anything.”

“Actually,” Roy smirked, “I was going to suggest me move this closer to the fireplace, but if you insist…”

“Shut up and kiss me you arschloch.” Ed replied gruffly, to which Roy heartily responded by smashing their mouths together again. 

“You said that word again.” Roy commented as he lifted Ed bridal style. Ed shrieked with surprise but quickly collected himself as Roy made the long five steps across the cabin to his bed. 

He set Ed down so that they were both sitting at the edge of the bed.

“I know,” Ed whispered and pulled him down once more.

~END~


	4. Day 4: Beginings/ Endings {Stripper AU}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed's new client isn't what he would usually expect from a high-end tailor's shop. Not that he's complaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So let me say, I had THE BEST FUCKING TIME WRITING THIS! It was so fun, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The first time Edward saw Roy Mustang, the former had been patterning out alterations to a frumpy, lilac, day dress when the small bronze bells above his shop’s old wooden door tinkled to awareness the presence of a new customer. The morning sun shining through the front shop windows inhibited Ed’s view of him, but the blonde tailor could already tell by the man’s uncomfortable cough this was not his usual kind of client. 

His usual crowd consisted of wealthier military men and their wives, as the ‘Elric & Co. Tailors’ shop was located nearest of all tailor’s shops to Central HQ and its surrounding barracks and neighborhoods. These clients were always very sure of themselves, bringing in only their finest garments for Edward and his brother to tailor to their bodies. This man, who had stepped further into the shop, looked the part of a Commanding Officer, were it not for his posture and less-than-immaculate clothing. He was very handsome, Ed noted in the back of his mind, with his soft features and sharp, near black eyes.

Ed put down his chalk and ruler, dusting his hands off on his (well-fitted, of course) shirt as he walked behind the desk that sat at the front of the shop.   
“Good Morning,” He greeted the man with a smile. The other ran his long fingers through his dark hair (probably a nervous tick) and returned Ed’s greeting. Despite his rumpled state (Ed believed it was largely due to the vastly oversized coat the man currently wore), he gave a very sultry, attractive smile. “How can I help you?”

The man took off his coat, revealing equally ill-fitting dark slacks and a rumpled button-up just a tad more off-white than Ed’s own. 

“I’ve come to see if I could set up an appointment to get my coat fitted some time this week.” Ed barely refrained from asking if the man would like to have his entire wardrobe fitted, but he could tell that his vaguely skeptical expression had shown well enough for the other to read, as the dark-haired man sighed, “I have the money right here if you want to see it.”

Ed shook his head, “I don’t charge up-front- it depends on the amount of fitting I need to do. If money’s an issue, I can direct you to a cheaper tailor.”

A short silence. 

“The cheaper tailors don’t like me.”

Ed quirked an eyebrow, “You’ve pissed off every tailor less expensive than us.”

The bastard smirked, “You impressed?”

“Who even goes to enough tailors to piss one off?”

“You’re looking at him,”

Ed picked up a pen, “I’ll give you an appointment because I want to know how the hell you accomplished that. Name?”

“Roy Mustang,”

Ed paused. He’d heard that name two years ago from a Lieutenant who had needed a formal dress taken up for a military ball- Riza Hawkeye. She had become a regular after she and Al had bonded over stories about their pets. 

“You’re Lieutenant Hawkeye’s commanding officer, right?”

Mustang’s smirk faltered, “Was. I haven’t spoken to Riza lately, is she a customer here?”

“Oh. Yeah, she comes in now and then. Does Wednesday at- say- noon work for you?” Ed asked.

Roy thought for a moment, “Yes, but I will only be able to stay for two hours at most.”

Ed smiled, “Perfect, you’re all scheduled. Can’t wait to hear about those pissed off tailors.”

Roy chuckled, “Sure thing.” And waved out the door and into the frigid winter air. The wintry breeze hit Ed, synchronized with the wave of curiosity towards his new client.

\-----------------------------

On Wednesday Roy walked into the shop as scheduled. The wind that blasted through the open door was cold enough for Ed to curl his toes in his shoes. He was surprised to see a little girl in a puffy pink coat trailing shyly behind him. Her coat looked much more expensive than that of the man she accompanied.

“Hello again,” Roy greeted. “I’ve brought my niece along with me today, I hope you don’t mind.”

Ed waved at the little girl, “No problem. We’ve got a few cats in the back if she’d like to play with them while I measure you.” Ed gestured to the wooden door in the back of the shop, just behind the small platform Roy would soon be standing atop. 

The little girl shook her head, flushing and grabbing Roy’s pants leg defensively. Roy chuckled and patted the girl on the head, “Elicia’s a bit shy.”

Ed replied, “It’s fine.” Then turning his head to the doorway, he called, “Al! Bring Scruffy into the main room, will you?”

A chipper voice responded, “Of course!” before an equally chipper brunette strode into the front room with a small white cat in his arms. 

“Good Afternoon!” He greeted Roy, who responded likewise. Noticing Elicia, Al seemed to pick up on the cat’s necessity, as he crouched down and placed the fluffy animal down beside the desk, saying in a voice he often used with children, “Scruffy’s very patient, so if you’re gentle with her, she’ll let you pet her for a long time.”

Elicia, seeming to forget entirely about her earlier shyness, moved straight to the cat, tapping her soft head gently, “She’s like a cloud!”

Roy smiled at Elicia before turning back to Ed. “Where do you want me?” He asked in a low voice that made the phrase entirely sexual.

Hoping he wasn’t flushing from the thought, Ed pointed at the platform, “Go stand on that. I need to get my tape and shi-stuff.” Ed corrected himself with a glance towards the little girl currently running her fingers through Scruffy’s cheek fur. 

As he moved to his work table and picked up his tape and notebook, Ed commented, “It’s getting really damn cold out there- this your only coat? I’m going to have to keep it here to alter.”

“It is, but I’ll make it. As cold as it is outside, I find its always far too hot inside. They balance each other out.”

Ed quirked an eyebrow, “Sure they do. Hold your arms out; I’ll get your torso measurements done first. Do you have an undershirt on? It’ll be easier for me to measure you without the button-down.”

“Sure,” Roy shrugged, quickly unbuttoning his shirt. He rolled his shoulders back slightly, letting the garment fall to a heap on the floor. The smooth action couldn’t read as anything other than seductive whether or not Roy knew it, and it made Ed blush again. Looking to the side, Ed noted that his brother was also casting strange glances towards their client.

Ed looked back at Roy, and- fuck, he’s a goddamn statue. Ed knew immediately that the white shirt had to have been too big for him, because it totally masked the sheer amount of lean, sculpted muscle that the undershirt did poorly to hide.

“So,” Ed almost squeaked when he noticed Roy looking at him amusedly, “How did you wind up babysitting today?” 

As Ed began to feel around Roy’s back, asking briefly to move his arms this way and that, Roy explained, “My sister Gracia and her husband left for the rest of the week to celebrate their anniversary. Elicia’s staying with my mom, but I’ve been watching her during the day because she works a day job.”

“I see,” Ed commented, not really listening. He was more concerned with keeping an air of professionalism while he ran the measuring tape along Roy’s impressive shoulder muscles. Really, it was usually Al to get flustered by states of undress. Why was this happening?

‘Oh yeah,’ Ed answered himself, ‘your raging, closeted, homosexuality. That’s probably it.’

Despite Ed’s internal turmoil, the measuring session went without a hitch. In less than the allotted two hours, Ed was handing Roy his oversized button-up, “I can fit this for you some time as well, if you’re so set on buying oversized clothing.”

Roy laughed, “I’ve only got enough money for the coat, but I appreciate your concern.”

Ed rolled his eyes a bit, “Would the same time next week work? I’m only getting the general fittings this time, so I’ll need to go back in for a closer fit over multiple sessions.”

Roy nodded, “That should work splendidly.” He turned to Elicia, who had turned to inspect the various colors of fabric along the wide walls half an hour previously, “Elicia, buddy, do you want to get some hot chocolate before we go back to Grandma?”

The little girl’s head shot up, “Yeah!! Let’s go!”

Roy smiled and placed a wad of cash on the reception desk, “Let’s get going then.” The two waved at Ed as they left, another blast of cold air filling the front of the store as the door opened and closed. Ed never got to ask Roy about those pissed-off tailors. 

“Ed!” Al exclaimed as the door shut fully.

“What?” Ed asked back, confused. 

“That guy totally flustered you. You were flustered, that never happens!” Al explained, “Did you really think he was that hot?”

Ed’s face heated up as if he had suddenly stepped into a fire, “Wha-no!” He slammed his hand over the money in the desk, noticing vaguely the rumpled nature of the bills before shoving them into the old cash register that refused to open smoothly beside him.

Al, the heathen disguised as pure innocence, barked with laughter, doubling over for the dramatics, “Brother, your face is so red. You thought he was hot!”

“No I didn’t. I-I’m not even into guys, how could I think he’s hot?” Ed weakly defended, his voice cracking at ‘think’. 

Al just gave him a face better suited for a mother who knows their child is trying to hide candy behind their back, “Edward Elric, don’t you even try that one with me.” 

Ed threw his hands up, trailing them back down his face in defeat. It was Al’s eyes; he could never keep a fib up long under that scrutinizing yet still puppy-dog-adorable gaze, “Fine! He was incredibly fucking hot, are you happy?”

“…Who was incredibly fucking hot? Why wasn’t I invited?” A gravely, effeminate, male voice following the chill and chime of the opening door asked before Al could reply. 

Ed recognized his half-brother’s voice immediately, “What the hell do you want Envy?” 

The dark-haired man smiled innocently, holding up two plastic bags, “You two probably forgot to eat lunch. I brought takeout.”

“Envy, you never told us you were in town!” Al chirped, taking a bag and giving the older man a quick side-hug. 

“You poisoned the food, didn’t you?” Ed asked, not necessarily pleased like Al to see him. 

“That’s right, Edward. We’re all going to shit ourselves to death.” Envy smirked as Al led them all through the door in the back, into a large storage/ office space. The walls were crammed with way too much extra fabric and patterns to be considered fire code-friendly, and the table set against the one large window on the furthest wall was full of papers and pin cushions. 

“You don’t get dysentery from poison, you dumbfuck.” Ed retorted as he moved the mess from the table to the floor (accidentally dropping a paper on Scruffy, who had followed them in as well) and pulled up an extra stool for his estranged brother. 

Envy shrugged, “What about explosive diarrhea?”

“Ew, both of you, we’re about to eat!” Al pouted. He opened all of the various to-go boxes, parsing them out, as well as the provided disposable chopsticks, to the brother that each belonged to. 

“So,” Envy started, sitting on the chair not bordered by a wall, “Tell me about this sexy devil who’s captured my dear younger brother’s attention.”

Ed choked on his noodles, “It’s no one!”

Al smiled with a dangerous innocence, “His new client’s got the ass of a God.”

“AL!” Ed shrieked, “I thought you were on my side!”

“Never took you for an ass man, Ed.” Envy remarked.

“I’m not an ass man!” Ed’s blush was back with a vengeance.

Envy shook his head, commenting around a mouthful of seasoned chicken, “That’s absolutely something an ass man would say.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Ed yelled, shoving another large hunk of noodle into his mouth. 

“Okay, let’s be civil while we eat,” Al suggested like he hadn’t just thrown Ed under the bus seconds ago. 

“Did you catch this guy’s name?” Envy asked, seemingly ignoring Al’s pleas for calm. 

“Of course I did, he’s my customer.” Ed replied around his chopsticks, also ignoring Al, “It’s Roy Mustang, which now that I say it sounds really fake.”

Envy almost spat his food onto Al, “The one who was court-martialed a while ago?”

“H-he did mention that he used to be Riza’s superior officer.” Al suggested.   
“Yeah, I know him!” Envy said, “Good eye, Ed.”

Ed groaned, “Oh my fuck, he’s not the first person I’ve ever found attractive, could you shut up about it?”

Envy fake-sighed, “Fine, I’ll leave it for now. Have you two been out and about lately?”

“I have!” Al excitedly recounted his latest date with Winry, when they’d gone to the town fair forty minutes away from town and Winry had beasted him at the various money-trap games. Al had come home (which happened to be right above the shop) with a cheap teddy bear and the brightest smile Ed had seen on him since the last time he and Winry had gone out. It almost made Ed jealous that Al had the kind of person in his life that could make him that happy, but of course he wasn’t jealous enough to actively have a social life. 

As Al wrapped up his stories, Ed noticed that they were all basically done with lunch. 

“Well Ed, I guess that makes us the lonely bachelors.” Envy sighed.

“Yeah, but some of us don’t care.” Ed said back. 

“So you wouldn’t want to go hit a strip club or two with me tonight? You can’t possibly tell me that a tailor’s shop stays open late.” Envy asked. 

Ed flushed bright red, “Why would I want to do that?!”

“Usually that’s what lonely bachelors do to get away from work. I know a few that have dudes, considering that’s what you’re into-“

“SHUT UP!” Ed interrupted. “I-I have work after we close up, you know. Clothes don’t sew themselves.”

Al shook his head amusedly, “You know Ed, it wouldn’t kill you to loosen up a bit.”

Ed shouted, “Al! I can’t rely on you at all today can I?”

Al shrugged, “I’m just saying, you’ve been unhealthily obsessed with work since winter began. You should go out a bit; I’m not saying it has to be a strip club, but if that’s the presented opportunity…”

“Ugh, FINE. I’ll go or whatever.” Ed said, suspicious that Al was only pushing the issue because he wanted the place empty for him and Winry. “But don’t expect this to become a regular thing.” 

Envy nodded, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on top of his now-closed to-go box. “Sweet, I’ll wait here until you close. Trust me, you’ll be happy you went.” He said with a wink.

Ed was officially worried.

\----------------

They closed about four hours later, with only two more clients coming in to schedule appointments, and one to complain about an inconsistency in her pristine fur shawl that had been fitted at a completely different shop.  
With a feeling in his gut not entirely dissimilar to anticipation and dread, Ed called back to tell Envy to ‘wake his ass up and put his coat on’. 

Soon enough, Al was waving them away as Envy led a grumbly Ed to his beat-up sedan parked a very inconvenient distance from the shop. Although it was incredibly fucking cold, Ed noted that the roads were simply wet from the rain an hour earlier, and not frozen over.

When they reached the car, the blonde had to throw several dirty t-shirts, food wrappers, and already crumpled notebook papers from the passenger seat in order to sit down, whilst Envy simply sat atop the papers cluttering the driver’s seat.

Envy paused to look Ed up and down a bit, “You’re seriously going to wear a button-down to a strip club?”

“It’s a casual button down.” Ed retorted.

Envy rolled his eyes, starting the engine with a sharp turn of his wrist, “Sure it is.” A burst of weirdly sweet-smelling, hot air hit Ed’s face from the tiny air vents as the car grumbled to life.

“Whatever,” Ed rolled his eyes back at his brother. The car bumped away in silence for about seven minutes before Ed fell curious, “I didn’t know you’re into dudes.”

Envy shrugged, “If its human and I can fuck it I’m attracted to it.”  
“Ever the charmer.” Ed muttered. 

Envy took a sharp turn, the tires skidding along the wet asphalt. Above Ed’s loud swears, Envy retorted, “I mean, it’s not like I knew that you like to go matchy-matchy with the genitals until a few hours ago- look, we’re here.”  
Envy turned into a large, fairly well-lit parking lot already half-full of various models of cars in varying states of kempt-ness (Envy’s car definitely fell under the less well-kempt of the lot). 

The building itself looked surprisingly nice and heavily “burlesque”. The outside was brick painted with grey and black to resemble the intricate stonework of some kind of romantic Victorian theater, and heavy red curtains fell over the large windows that adorned the front of the building. An ornate wooden doorway, framed by a buzzing, iridescent light fixture stood at the very middle of the structure. 

Envy smirked viciously beside Ed, “Pretty crowded tonight; Flame must be performing.” 

“Do I want to know?” Ed asked.

“Oh yes, you absolutely do.” Envy answered, leading the two of them through the heavy door. Inside was more or less a large expanse of hard-wood floors, gold paneling, and nice mahogany tables and booths. 

Everything was very low-lit, besides a bar in one corner that attached to a large, low-rising stage in the very middle of the furthest wall. Red and blue sheets of cellophane covered all of the table lights, whilst the stage and bar lights remained naked. On the large stage (around which the tables scattered), a man swung himself around a sturdy pole in nothing more than a pair of tight booty shorts and a necktie. A small pile of clothes lay below him.

A busty, black-haired woman in a scant pleather one-piece greeted them at the reception desk, “Envy, how pleasant of you to turn up.”

“Lust, what’s new? Flame performing tonight?” Envy asked, shooting a glance at Ed, “This is Ed, my half-bro I’ve told you about before.”

“Yes, he’ll be on in about five minutes, I’d expect. Ed, do you have an ID on you?” Lust asked.

Grumbling, Ed procured his driver’s license. After Lust’s affirmative nod, Ed stuffed it back into his pocket.

“Enjoy yourselves, boys.”

“We will,” Envy waved back at her as they entered the main room of the strip bar. 

Ed looked around, noting the smell of tobacco and cologne mixed in with the expected smell of alcohol, “Seems nicer than I’d expect a stripper gig to be.”

“Yeah, they’re all into the vintage burlesque aesthetic and shit. As long as they’ve got a glory hole in the bathroom I’m game, and this place seems like more of an ‘Edward Elric’ kinda place.” Envy shrugged, choosing a table for the two of them about two spaces away from the stage.

“Why’s that?” Ed asked, “Not just because there’re guys, I expect.”

Envy smirked broadly, “You’ll see. You want a beer?”

He nodded, and Envy left him for the bar. Looking around, Ed noticed that a lot of the audience was male, unsurprisingly, with the occasional (non-stripper, that is) woman scattered around the bunch. 

It was just when Ed noticed Envy stealing glances at him from across the room that the stripper on stage ended his routine, accepting the audience’s money before readily striding off the stage, shed clothing in hand. 

Lust took his place on the stage, a microphone in hand. “Good Evening ladies, gentlemen. Our next show, doubtless you all know, is certain to please. Open your eyes for our lovely ex-soldier, Flame.” She twirled off the stage with a flourish amidst the masculine whoops and feminine squeals of joy as the stage lights dimmed and a man appeared, silhouetted, in front of the pole. 

The lights instantly flared on in time with the start of a seductively jazzy swing tune, and Ed knew why Envy had brought him to the club. Wearing a half-undone button up (under which peeked some sort of tight tank) and kicking his leg high around the pole was none other than Ed’s extremely fucking hot client, Roy Mustang. 

Ed could hear Envy’s cackles from the bar, and he (very discreetly) flipped his half-sibling off without taking his eyes from the scene before him. Within the mere three seconds it took for Ed to make the provocative gesture towards Envy, Roy had easily slid out of his button up, flashing a dazzling smile at the raging audience. 

Showing impressive skill, the performer easily hoisted himself onto the pole centered on the stage, swinging about in time to the upbeat tune. Ed was completely caught off-guard. He’d been curious when Roy had hinted that he didn’t work a day job. Never would he have imagined that Roy was a stripper, but seeing it first-hand... needless to say, Ed could affirm to himself that he was, indeed, very gay. 

Envy reappeared beside Ed with two glass bottles of beer and a maliciously wide grin, “Enjoying yourself, Ed?” 

Ed swiped a beer from the dark-haired man’s hand, “Took you an awfully long time to get two bottled beers.” 

Envy shrugged, “I had to get your reaction from the best angle. Trust me, it was priceless.” 

Ed could feel his blush spread down his neck when Roy began to move his hips against the metal pole, suspended with his feet off the ground by pure upper-body strength. He spun with seemingly no effort, even chatting up some of the closer tables over the din of noise and music. He then kicked his legs over his body, wrapping one leg around the pole upside-down, and Ed was both entirely impressed and uncomfortably turned on. All the while, he could feel Envy’s unwavering, amused gaze on his face. 

“You’re a sadist, you know that?” Ed muttered to Envy, receiving a bark of laughter in reply. 

“Oh, Edward. You’re precious, really.” Envy said before standing, “Let’s go say hi.” 

“What? No!” Ed hissed, dodging the hand moving to grab onto his arm, “He’s my client, seeing him in my shop’ll be embarrassing enough now, I don’t need him knowing- wait, where are you going? Listen to me, asshole!” Ed almost considered tackling Envy as he shrugged and moved ahead without him, but refrained in fear of unneeded attention. 

He watched tentatively as Envy leaned dramatically against the stage. Recognition flared into Roy’s eyes as he flipped down from his previous upside-down position to dance with his feet on the floor for a bit. Ed watched Roy’s mouth move in conversation (still dancing just as well as previously) with his brother, before the stripper quirked an eyebrow and looked up amusedly right at Ed. 

Ed felt like being impaled would feel a lot better than the embarrassment that flared like a bonfire deep inside his stomach. His blush was definitely vibrant enough for Envy and Roy to see, because he could hear another sharp laugh from the former. 

Roy grinned, giving Ed a flirty wave as he twirled. He noticed the smile that stretched at the corners of Roy’s mouth as he vaguely waved back feeling just as embarrassed. He noticed Envy take a small object from Roy’s hand mid-deep pole swing before he strode back to Ed, malicious smirk back in place. 

“I absolutely fucking hate you.” Ed glared at the laughing man. 

In response, Envy dropped the object from his hand onto the table in front of the scarlet-cheeked blonde. Ed picked it up curiously, finding it to be a wooden, red chip shaped like a guitar pick with the strip club’s logo printed it on it in black ink. 

“The fuck is this?” Ed asked.

“It’s Flame’s personal chip. All of the workers here have them- it’s basically a ticket into their changing room for a little one-on-one. He said come in whenever; wants to talk about a coat or some shit.” Envy explained, sitting back down next to Ed. 

Around them, the crowd grew slightly, as the time of night was growing ripe for alcohol and sex. The bright lights and extensive exercise had built a shining layer of sweat had built up on Roy’s body, almost highlighting his smooth movements. The extra body heat did absolutely nothing to assuage Ed’s uncomfortable blush.

Ed could have cried in relief when, after about five more minutes of guiltily being unable to tear his eyes from his client’s sultry movements, the song ended with Roy dipping himself backwards, leg kicked far above his torso. 

Picking up his shirt with a smile and a wink, Roy waltzed backstage, replaced by Lust yet again. 

“Damn,” Envy commented, nudging Ed almost jokingly, “He didn’t even take off that much clothing.”

“Shut up.” Ed grumbled as Lust introduced the next dancer. This time a woman stepped out to the pole, and Ed could have believed in a god at that point. 

The crowd was still hot and uncomfortable, but Ed was able to calm down… other aspects of his discomfort enough to not feel out of place. It felt like ages as the female stripper danced, but Envy clarified that they were only about six minutes into the routine when he asked.

The girl seemed rather younger than Roy, and almost timid at the pole as if she were new to the profession. He felt kind of bad for her, having so many voyeuristic eyes on her as she undressed. It wasn’t a very glamorous living, in Ed’s opinion. Guilt also poked him in the chest as he acknowledged that he was currently a set of those voyeuristic eyes, both for her and for Roy. 

Roy.

What the hell was he supposed to say to him? 

He’d apologize, but it wasn’t as if he had gone to the club to intentionally perv over ‘Flame’. Would acting as if they were simply in the shop be any better? In any case, formality might make the ordeal awkward, especially if Roy wanted to keep getting his coat fitted.

What if Roy didn’t want Ed’s services anymore? It wasn’t as if Ed would financially collapse if Roy decided to cop out, but the dark-haired man was one of the few customers that Ed had had a fun time with during a session. 

His usual clients were stuffy and didn’t like Ed thinking he was in any way superior to them. Roy had come in and been friendly to him, even going so far as to joke around with him. Greedy or not, Ed didn’t want to lose that kind of a client. Of course, his fast-forming attraction to Roy was another very large factor.

Ed looked down at the wooden chip in his palm, then up at Envy, who was gazing fixedly at the young woman on stage. He didn’t bother getting his attention, as the other would know where Ed went when he finally snapped back into reality. 

Ed saw Lust standing back at the reception desk, so he strode towards her. 

She noticed him and placed a stack of papers aside, “Do you need help?”

“Yeah, I received this,” Ed smacked the chip onto the countertop, “And I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with it.”

A smirk not dissimilar from Envy’s curled up Lust’s lips, “Flame’s room chip. It’ll give you access to his private company, but I must advise you that sex is prohibited. My employees aren’t prostitutes, after all.”

Ed scoffed, “I’m his tailor. I just need to talk to him about a coat he wants fitting.”

Lust’s eyebrows quirked further upwards, “You’re his tailor? He hasn’t been able to shut up about you for a week; I thought you’d be more his ‘type’.”

Ed blushed, “Can I just cash this thing in or whatever?”

The woman chuckled deep in her throat, “Sure, just give it to him. The room’s past those doors in the corner.” She pointed to a set of dark wooden doors on the opposite side of the stage from the bar.

Ed thanked Lust vaguely as he turned towards the doors, walking along the outskirts of the room to avoid bumping into the bustling crowd. At the doors, a worker passing through eyed him strangely until he showed her the chip. She nodded, pushing a lock of hair over her barren shoulder before giving Ed space to pass through. Down a low-lit hall lined with old, red wallpaper he walked, reading the nametags on each door until he was standing in front of the door whose tag read ‘Flame’. 

Taking a hesitant breath, Ed rapped on the door, not quite sure what to expect. After a span of two breaths Roy answered the door, stage makeup half-removed and loose sweats over his tight shirt and mini-shorts.

“Hey.” Ed greeted with an awkward wave, looking more around Roy’s shoulder than at his face. He held out the small red chip, “You wanted to talk?”

Roy took the chip and grinned, “Come on in.” 

Ed observed his surroundings as he stepped into the small room. 

It was covered in the same red wallpaper as the outside hall, and a mirror desk stood on the opposite wall from him. It was one of those kinds of desks whose mirror is bordered by many round light bulbs. 

The wooden floors creaked underneath his feet above the sound of light classical music that wafted from a speaker on the desk. A couch sat to the left of Ed, on which lay a few pillows and a rumpled blanket. He also noted a metal clothing rack sporting a variety of costumes and casual clothing.

‘Shit, does he live here?’ Ed couldn’t help but wonder, seeing the prevalence of the couch and blanket in an otherwise barren changing room.

“Can I take a guess to why a lot of tailors won’t give you service?” Ed asked to break the silence. He leaned against the corner of the desk as Roy sat at its chair, picking up a makeup wipe and getting to work on his face.

“Guess away.” Roy replied, albeit drily. 

“They want validation as ‘legitimate craftsmen’, and working with strippers isn’t amazing street cred.” Ed shot back, not meaning to sound as accusatory as he did.

Roy sighed, a dejected look immediately washing his features, “I can take my coat back as soon as tomorrow afte-“

Ed cut him off sharply, “Hold on, asshole, I wasn’t finished. As I was saying, it’s bad street cred for tailors who actually give a fuck about street cred. As I see it, nobody gets clothing fitted anymore unless they’re stupid rich, want to be stupid rich, or if they absolutely have to, so those other tailors are doing themselves a disservice by rejecting the clientele they can actually get.”

Roy smiled, “I bet I’m fairly more entertaining than your usual clientele as well,” He thought for a second, “No, change that. I used to work with your clientele- I know I’m more interesting than them.” 

“What’d you mean? I love hearing about military economic proceedings for hours on end.” Ed laughed, prompting a laugh from the other.

“I’m glad.” Roy simply stated as their chuckles died down.

“’Bout what?” Ed asked, confused by Roy’s ambiguity.

Roy looked to the side, “I was really worried. I didn’t want you to see me at my work and not want to see me again,” Ed opened his mouth, but Roy held up a silencing finger, “It’s more than wanting a fitted coat, really. I enjoyed spending a few hours with you and your brother the other day. If this… unfortunate stage of my professional life… had made you think anything less of me I’d be upset.”

Ed could feel a blush brighten his cheeks, “Well, you’re lucky Al and I aren’t assholes then.”

“Incredibly lucky.”

Ed heard the outside music slow down a bit, and Ed remembered the company he had come with, “Hey, you’re pretty familiar with my half-brother. How’d that happen?”

Roy rolled his eyes, “Envy? He’s a regular here. I’m kind of middle-manning a mutual crush he has with Georg, the bartender.”

“Don’t help him, he’s a dickbag.” Ed replied.

“So is Georg. It’s a match made in heaven.” Roy shrugged. 

“Speaking of dickbags, I probably should go check back with Envy, considering he drove me here. If I don’t see you again tonight, I’ll see you at noon a week from now for your next fitting, yeah?” Ed got up, noticing a flash of disappointment in Roy’s features. 

“I may not have enough money to pay you in full next week and still be able to buy food.” Roy stated. 

What Ed said next as he began to walk to the door seemed to simply fall out of his mouth, his self-control lost to an instant’s opportunity, “You can pay me back with coffee and an hour of you time.” Instantly, Ed stopped his steps, eyes as wide as saucers and blood running cold as ice. 

There was a painful period of silence, only the soft classical music audible in the far too tiny room.

“Edward Elric, are you asking me out?” Roy questioned hesitantly.

“W-What if I am?” he squeaked back, still turned away from the other man.

He almost jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder, “Then I’d gladly accept the offer.” 

“What?” Ed was dumbfounded. Had he actually just successfully asked a stripper to get coffee with him like it was totally a normal thing to do.

“I said, I would like to go on a coffee date with you.” Roy clarified with a grin.

Ed grinned back as he began to actually register the situation, “Oh, awesome. I’ll see you Wednesday, then.”

Roy’s hand left his shoulder as Ed opened the door into the red hallway, “I’ll be anxiously awaiting the day.”

The blonde rolled his eyes a fraction, “Sure thing,” and waved at Roy as he walked down the hall, out the double doors, and into the main room of the club.

‘Oh my fucking God.’

\--------------------------

Currently, Winry and Envy were both laughing hysterically. Ed and Envy hadn’t so much as walked into the shop’s door when Al and Winry had pounced them, demanding ‘the tea’, as Winry put it.

“I can’t believe you actually fucking asked him out!” Envy wheezed.

“At least I wasn’t the one making out with the bartender while he was still on duty!” Ed shot back, face the color of a perfectly ripe tomato. 

“I’m happy for you Ed, even though I’d be happier her wasn’t a stripper…” Al nudged him in the side.

“U-wha-okay, MOM.” Ed groaned. He turned on his heel and left the gaggle in the shop for his bedroom upstairs, “Goodnight, assfucks.”

“Love you too!” Envy called, to which Ed flipped him off for the umpteenth time that night. 

He had a smile across his face as he walked up the stairs, however. Come what may, he was excited. And at the absolute very least, his date was incredibly fucking hot.

[END]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment if you want more of this AU, because I am SO FUCKING DOWN to writing more!!!!!!!!


	5. Day 5: Cold/ Warmth (Royalty AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is pretty short compared to my last one hahahaha.... TBH I finished it ten minutes ago with two hours left of day 5 on the clock so yeah... Anyways, I'm a hoe for royalty AUs so here's my contribution to that lovely mess!

Once Upon a Time, there was a large kingdom.  
All across the land, the royal family of the Mustang regime was known to live life to the utmost standards of grandeur. The King and Queen had one son, Roy, whom they treasured with their lives. Roy loved his parents dearly, but no dearest parental love can merit the lack of secrets. The teenage prince had a secret he would keep from the king and queen with his very life, for if the secret were uncovered the royal family would have no living heir. 

There were secrets he confided with his cousin Maes, including but not limited to: he hated long ceremonies filled with frumpy old men, he was, in fact, the one who slipped the rat into Riza’s boot that one time, and that the aforementioned chambermaid scared the living hell out of him. Roy’s biggest secret, however, he kept only to himself.

Just because he hadn’t told anyone this secret by no means meant nobody knew, however. In fact, exactly one other person knew this secret, namely because he was the secret. Or rather, the entirely-sexual-and-definitely-not-emotional-but-actually-kinda-emotional relationship between Roy and the stable boy, Edward, was a strict secret. 

It had started when the prince had gone out on a leisurely ride in the woods. 

As was customary for the stable boy of a prince’s horse, Edward had tagged along behind on a horse of lesser breed than Roy’s own. A torrential rain had hit them in a valley east of the castle, so Roy decided to wait it out in a small alcove built for archery. With their horses tethered close under the thick forestry behind the covered platform, the teenagers sat beside one another, both drenched from the downpour. 

“How long do you think the rain will last?” Roy asked nonchalantly, “I have schooling come dusk.”

Edward rolled his eyes, “No damn clue, ‘highness, or else I’d tell you and we wouldn’t be out here. I have things to do too, ya know.” The blonde pulled at his woolen tunic sleeve disdainfully.

Roy smiled. Whilst his father may think it offensive, Roy liked Edward’s rash attitude. It felt more genuine than the stiff formality of the other servants, save Riza. His smile faltered a tad as he noticed slight tremors in Ed’s hands. He was shivering. Personally, Roy felt quite hot in such close proximity to Edward, so he was glad to shed his cotton riding-coat and drop it unceremoniously around Ed’s shoulders. 

The blonde jumped, startled by the sudden feeling of warmth on his back. Realizing what the prince had just done, he glared up at the other, tugging the coat further around his body.

Roy smirked, “You were shivering.”

Ed pouted, “It’s just that my metal limbs get a lot colder than the skin ones and give me chills. Now you’ll be cold, and my punishment for you getting sick will be much worse than if I get sick.”

“I’ll tell them I gave you my coat.” Roy shrugged.

Ed quirked an eyebrow, “How do you think they’ll interpret that one? I’m the lowly peasant, I should be the one taking my clothes off for you.” 

There was a small silence where Ed realized how exactly that might have sounded, and turned an adorable shade of beet red. Roy laughed loudly.

“You’d strip for me, Ed? How loyal you are!” Roy said through bursts of laughter.

Ed looked away from the amused royal, hands clenched tightly around the large coat, “Shut the fuck up! You know I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Why not?” Roy asked, silencing his companion.

“…What?” Ed turned back to look at Roy in the face. He looked contemplative, rather than joking, which confused him. 

Roy met his gaze, “Why shouldn’t you?”

Ed’s blush spread, heating up his belly and making the large coat feel incredibly uncomfortable, “W-well, we’re both men- I’d be killed were we found out, you probably would be too.”

“Nobody’s out here.” Roy commented, moving a hair lower towards Ed’s face, “We wouldn’t be found out.”

Ed’s voice grew breathy the closer Roy drew, “They’ll come looking.”

Roy smiled, his voice uncharacteristically low, “No they won’t.” Ed would deny it, but the tone made him throw away his inhibitions and meet Roy’s mouth as it kept nearing his. 

Their lips were damp from the rain but hot against one another. The cheek that Roy brought his hand up to cup felt equally so. Feeling bold from Roy’s reciprocating touch, Ed ran his tongue along the bottom of Roy’s lip. Roy readily let the kiss deepen, pushing his tongue past Ed’s chapped lips and around the wet heat of his mouth. 

Ed wasn’t able to hide a quiet groan, the new sensation sending bursts of feeling down his body. He wrapped his arms around Roy’s neck, turning to sit on Roy’s lap for better leverage. Roy moved his hands to the back of Ed’s head and waist, pulling the younger teen flush with him.

As they made out, the rain seemed to pick up, pelting the roof of the shack relentlessly. They didn’t get any further than just kissing on that day, for the rain soon cleared and their horses had grown impatient enough that they were making frustrated noises. 

Roy stopped the kiss, poking Ed lightly on the nose with a grin, “We should probably continue this later, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” the stableboy replied, shrugging off Roy’s jacket and handing it back to him, “I probably should arrive back at the palace wearing your shit.”

The prince laughed as Ed awkwardly stood from his lap, “You’re blushing.”

Out of sheer adherence to Roy’s title, Ed refrained from snapping back that he was also blushing violently, “I’ll ready the horses.” He stepped out of the archery stand, not altogether excited about the long, wet journey back to his workplace. 

\-----------------------------

So, obviously, this secret was a strictly between Ed and Roy… as well as maybe Ed’s younger brother.

“He kissed my face, Al!” Ed exclaimed inside the small cabin he and his brother owned just outside the town’s gates.

Al had been startled when Ed nearly kicked the door in, hours after his rendezvous in the forest, with a red face and confliction written across his features. He had been even more startled when he found out why his brother looked so out-of-character.

“Okay yes, you’ve told me this several times already, Brother. What did you do when he kissed you?” Al asked, attempting feebly to assuage the situation. The cabin had been leaking since the rain, and the youngest Elric brother was already frustrated with the fire that refused to burn hot enough to boil the stew. He absolutely did not want Ed to leave him hanging on this turn of events. 

Ed threw his hands up, “What the hell was I supposed to do? I would much prefer making out with him than being flogged, thank you.”

“You’re being dramatic, Ed. You know what you two did is just as dangerous for him as it is for you.” Al reasoned

Ed paused, letting his hands fall from the air, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“So…” Al started as he threw a tragically damp log into the smoldering fire, “How was it?”

Ed flushed, “I’m not talking about this with you.”

“Was it that bad? Oh my God, was he unimpressed?” Al asked, unsure whether to laugh or be sympathetic. 

“Wha-NO! Why would you assume I’m the bad one?” Ed shrieked, feeling about ready to go outside and drown himself in the village cesspool. 

“So he was bad?” Al prodded.

“No, he was grea- wait, why am I telling you this?” Ed groaned and planted his face into his arms folded atop their small, rickety table. 

Al laughed, “I’ll go get some more firewood and let you die in peace.” 

“Thanks.” Came Ed’s mumbled reply as Al left the tiny room, closing door tight behind him. 

\---------------------------------

About a month had passed, and Roy had found opportunities to spend time with his stable boy almost every day, most of these consisted of them riding out somewhere and finding a niche or cove in which to share quick, passionate kisses. 

With these adventures came a lot of time spent talking and generally associating with Ed. Roy began to know him much better than as a prince and stable boy should probably know one another. 

He knew that Ed only refused to live in the castle because he had to look after his younger brother, and that Ed had lost his limbs in a farmer’s dispute-gone-wrong in the marketplace, and that the only reason he was lucky enough to get metal replacements was because his close cousin was the automail mechanic for the castle, Winry Rockbell. Ed had also explained that this connection had landed him his current job. 

Roy knew beforehand that Ed could be brash, but he hadn’t expected just how brash and sarcastic he really was. To Roy, this upfront attitude was almost a breath of fresh air from the formality he received from his peers on a regular basis. It made him enjoy the blonde’s company all the more.

Considering how routine being with Ed had become, Roy was more than slightly taken aback when, on a particularly cold afternoon, the stableboy was nowhere to be found. 

The stable-master, the butcher’s temperamental wife Izumi, curtsied unemotionally and told Roy that the younger teen had felt ill the previous night and was probably not going to be at the stables for a while.

So, donning a commoner’s tunic and cloak Riza had bought him (because he tended to attract too much attention when he came to visit her home in the market), Roy set solitarily on Ed’s horse to the wintry fields outside the village gates. The cabin Izumi had described sat roughly one hundred meters from the frozen-over cesspool (Roy could only imagine the smell the pool emitted during the summertime). The hut’s wooden walls almost seemed to quiver with the chilling wind. 

A boy who looked a few years younger than Ed answered the door. Roy guessed this was Al, Ed’s brother.

Al stood in the doorway for a moment before he gasped, “Wha- Your Highness?”

Roy sighed, “Was I that obvious?”

“U-um, not at all! You just look like Brother’s descriptions.” Al squeaked, “Come in!”

Roy thanked the boy and briefly observed his surroundings by the light of two windows to the left and right of him respectively. The entire place was a most eighteen square feet all around, but a rickety table in the very middle, papers and candles strewn about it. A chimney’s fire crackled across from Roy, over which a large pot boiled, from what Roy could smell, with stew. Beside the fireplace, a sleeping pad of sorts took up the entire space between wall and table. 

“Did you come for Ed? Pardon my upfrontness, prince, but he is in absolutely no shape-“ Al stopped when Roy held up a finger.

“I’m not here to make your brother work, Alphonse, I was just worried for him.” Roy explained.

“Don’t be,” Came a raspy reply from the sleeping pad, “It’s not your- cough- problem to be worried about. Go make out with some other servant while I’m away.”

After a nod from Al, Roy moved to sit cross-legged beside Ed’s curled form, “You know I don’t want to do that. Plus, if I kissed Riza I’d probably die a crueler death than what even the executioner could bear.”

From the pillow-end the bundle of scratchy blankets and limbs Ed’s blotchy and tired face popped out, “You’re an idiot.”

“You’re probably right, but I don’t really care.” Roy replied indignantly, “You look terrible, by the way.”

“Thanks, I try.” Ed was about to extend his retort when a peal of coughs wracked his body, “Damn, I hate this. You should probably go, Roy, I don’t want to make you sick. Remember what I’ve told you; I’ll probably be punished if I get you sick.”

“Not if nobody finds out,” Roy shot back. He turned to Al, who had been tending to the soup and pointedly distancing himself from the couple’s conversation, “Hey, Alphonse?”

Ed’s brother turned and placed his stirring spoon beside the fireplace, “Just Al, please. What is it?”

“Could I perhaps borrow some ink and parchment?” Roy asked.

“Of course!” The younger chirped, whilst Ed added a grumbled, “You’re paying us back, though. Those are precious resources.”

“Ed!” Al yelped, “He’s the prince!”

“A prince who’s not getting any action once he pays me back, even if I’m not sick when the time comes.” Ed grumbled, “Got that, fancypants?”

“Loud and clear,” Roy laughed. He hastily jotted his note onto the sheet, excusing himself briefly to secure it to the saddle of Ed’s horse. With a slap on the backside, the horse began to gallop back towards the castle (as royal horses were trained to do) and Roy was back in the cabin, “I should be fine to stay until tomorrow if you’d like the help, Al.”

“I’d love that!” Al said back, “Would you like some stew? Ed won’t eat much of his.”

“Please,” Roy accepted the small bowl and crude wooden spoon, set on being useful for once.

\-----------------------------

Izumi was replacing a stall’s hay when he heard the sound of Ed’s horse galloping into the barn. It was panting heavily, and her blood froze when she saw no prince on its back. 

Dropping the hay, Izumi rushed to the animal’s side, desperate for a sign that her carelessness in foregoing a chaperone had resulted in a tragic end of their heir’s life. That sign came in the form of a sheet of rolled-up parchment shoved into the satchel on the mare’s saddle.

She unrolled it and read:

Izumi,  
This is your prince, Roy IV of Amestris. I can confirm that Edward Elric is indeed very sick, and I will be staying with him and his brother overnight to aid in his recovery.  
Please don’t show this page to the King and Queen- I have in the satchel on the horse’s other side a page for them, which is a complete bullshit story to make them not worry, as well as my medallion of royalty to prove that it is I who wrote this message.  
Adieu

Izumi breathed a deep sigh of relief and pulled from the horse’s other side the aforementioned items. After she tied up her apprentice’s horse she would deliver the letter under her prince’s orders, she reasoned. 

With a small smile Izumi mumbled, “Edward Elric, you’re going to cause my death someday,” before yanking on the horse’s reigns and continuing with her work.

All in the kingdom was peaceful, and Roy’s little secret remained so forever after. The End.

[END]


	6. Day 6: Together/ Apart (Masquerade Ball '03 Reuinion)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IM IN DENIAL.

Roy’s face itched. More specifically, the mask that obscured half of his face chafed against his jaw as he talked, and thus his face itched. 

Not that he could really complain, though, for as it were, his mask was comparably lighter than many of the men and women populating the sparkling ballroom. For once in his miserable life, Roy found that he couldn’t afford a mask so extravagant for the annual military masquerade. 

It was astounding that he was actually here if he were perfectly honest with himself. He wouldn’t have even known it was the right time of year had Riza not shown up at his snowy cabin weeks before and demanded he come; the days all seem to blur into one when the only thing for miles is barren snowy wasteland. Roy had agreed to go, but only because he was fairly positive nobody would try to invade at the current height of winter. 

He felt a tap on his elbow and turned to find the aforementioned blonde, eyes and forehead masked in shimmering blue and an uncharacteristic smile gracing the corners of her mouth, “Glad you could make it,” She greeted simply.

“Glad I could leave that hellhole for a weekend,” Roy murmured back, “Five years its been since I traveled any further than the nearby town for food.”

“Your eye hasn’t been a trouble?” Riza asked, nodding towards the masked area of his face. Roy had forgone his eye patch in favor of the mask, but visually it didn’t make a huge difference- this just itched a bit more.

“I’ve gotten used to it. Care to dance? I’ll have to warn you in advance; I haven’t danced since before I lost my depth perception.” Roy offered Riza his hand, which she took, and led her to the center of the large ballroom, where couples twirled glitteringly. 

Luckily, Roy’s muscle memory seemed to be unaffected by time, as he found himself easily maneuvering the steps of each dance smoothly, only occasionally hit by a woman’s dress tassel as she swung about or brushing another dancer’s back when the temp increased suddenly. As the mass of people began to become vibrant blurs of beads and feathers, Roy caught a glimpse of gold. There was a lot of gold in the room, but only one set of golden eyes that pierced through a mask of tanned, ornately carved leather.

Roy only realized he’d stopped moving when Riza prodded him sharply with her elbow, and several annoyed dancers cursed him. Although he couldn’t see her facial featured amazingly, Roy could read the concern that poured Riza’s blue eyes like a current. Roy hastily moved them to the edge of the dancing crowd, smiling apologetically at his former subordinate, “I have to go check on something.”

“What? Is something wrong?” Riza asked, reaching down to place her fingers at her thigh, where Roy could assume her trusty pistol was strapped.   
He shook his head, “No, I just… I need to find someone.” 

“Okay…” The blonde woman nodded, “Well, I’ll go make sure Jean hasn’t gotten himself wasted on champagne.”

Roy nodded absently, already intent on his curiosity. As Riza melted into the crowd, he began to ponder. Had he really seen golden eyes? Or was he just projecting his wants into the extravagance of his current setting? Was he really that sad and desperate?

He decided to slip through the crowd, keeping a very sharp eye out for the leather mask and golden set of hair and eyes, towards a gigantic stone balcony, whose doors were kept open for the partygoers to admire the expansive gardens of whoever’s wealthy family home this was. 

He assumed the air was cold for central at this point of winter, but he simply couldn’t find the air anything but pleasantly fresh and not violently windy. It wasn’t even snowing! Just to feel the chill he once mistook for real cold, Roy shed his jacket, holding it folded under one arm. 

The smell of freshly mown lawn hit him as he approached the edge of the balcony, resting his arms against the ornate railing. The stars twinkled above him as populous and vibrant as the dancers behind him. Several glass lanterns hung from hooks along the balcony, shedding light into the otherwise dark nooks not brightened by the flood of ballroom light. He appeared to be the only person on the balcony, he guessed because of the apparent cold. 

The golden eyes claimed his mind. How long had it been since he had last seen the gleam of confidence- of total faith in success- that had rested so permanently in those eyes? 

Ed would be, what, twenty now? Was it futile to believe he was still alive, as Al so ferociously persisted? After all, they hadn’t found a body, and the Rose girl had said that she saw Ed sacrifice himself for Al. 

Was it possible, after all this time, Ed had found his way from the gate?   
He vaguely heard the sound of footsteps behind him. The steps stopped a few paces away from Roy and then resumed until they stopped again on his blind side. He was too focused on his thoughts to really care about whoever currently stood beside him. 

The dumbfounded, “You gotta be fucking kidding me!” broke Roy from his stupor. He turned around to find Edward Elric’s golden eyes burning into him behind the leather mask, “There’s no way you’re not cold right now.”

“Fullmetal.” Roy said stupidly, unable to really process the situation.

Ed rolled his eyes, pushing the mask to the top of his head, “No shit- took you long enough to see me, I’ve been standing here for like five minutes.” He looked older, unsurprisingly, but seemed to have maintained his small frame.

“Y-you’re standing in my blind spot,” Roy momentarily flipped up his own mask in explanation, exposing the rough scarring that now replaced his left eye, “Where the hell’ve you been? It’s pretty rude to up and leave everyone worrying about you for nearly five and a half years, you know.”

The blonde looked off to the side, resting his arms against the railing as Roy had previously, done, “I was in another world- on the other side of the gate. Alchemy wasn’t a thing there, so it took a bit of creativity to find a way back.”

“Another world?” Roy repeated, “What kind of world was it?”

Ed paused to think, “It was like… the same, but… I don’t know, not?” Roy must have looked incredibly confused, for Ed slid a hand down his face and elaborated, “It’s a lot. The people there were the same people as there are here, like everybody has a doppelganger from this world in that one, but they were all… off, like something wasn’t clicking to make them just like the people here- FUCK, it’s cold.”

“Inside, then,” Roy suggested.

“Yeah,” Ed agreed. 

They left the balcony to seep in the nighttime darkness. The air back inside was much nicer, but the noise was obscene. Ed led Roy to a cluster of tables, one of which was empty in the very back corner of the room. He had pushed his mask back down over his face, as was the dress code of the night. 

They sat in silence for a minute, Ed with a conflicted look on what Roy could see of his face, “…There was- I mean- I met you there. Like, your other version.”

Roy raised an eyebrow, “Oh?” He hadn’t expected Ed to tell him something so specific.

“Yeah, we were, uh… friends,” Ed explained, a blush poking out from under his brown mask that made Roy question Ed’s use of ‘friend’, “Every bit as stupid as you, but he was more… naïve, I guess.”

“How do you mean?” Roy asked, choosing to ignore the ‘stupid’ comment.

Ed sighed, “I don’t know, I guess it was just because he’s like my age there? I guess I’ve always been closer to adults than people my own age, so a lot of my peers in Germany just seemed so naïve, especially with that Roy. I couldn’t help comparing him. Same thing with Al’s double; I saw him and could only see how much he wasn’t Al,” Ed frowned, but quickly snapped out of his stupor with a change of topic, “How’d your eye go?”

It was Roy’s turn to sigh, “Archer’s bullet got me after I was done at Bradley’s mansion the night you left. As you can imagine, I was demoted to Enlisted Man as soon as I came to, and I’ve been cooped up in a cabin up north freezing my ass off ever since. This is actually my first night away from that shit shack in five years.”

“And you were about to spend it alone on a freezing balcony.” Ed snarked, crossing his arms. 

Roy laughed, “Trust me, the outside here is like a fresh spring morning compared to my post right now.” 

“...That’s my fault, isn’t it? I made you go kill Bradley.” Ed asked tentatively. 

“Ed, I wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. I chose the outpost over one in Central, you know, because if I stayed here it could only remind me that I was bleeding out when I could have been down there helping you. Maybe you wouldn’t have had to sacrifice yourself then.” Roy explained, doing his best to keep eye contact with the young blonde, even if he wanted to look away out of embarrassment. He hadn’t had to face people and emotions for five years, and the fast refresher was like lemon juice in a wound.

Roy stood, raising a confused and slightly disappointed look form Ed, “You know, I didn’t travel hours from my post for the first time in half a decade to attend a masquerade ball and not dance.”

Ed realized what Roy was hinting at and shook his head violently, “Not a damn chance, Mustang. I can’t dance for shit.”

“And I don’t have depth perception. We’ll be the perfect annoyance to the higher-ups out there.”

“You danced pretty well with Lieutenant Hawkeye,” Ed retorted.

“She’s one of the best dancers I know; it’d be extremely hard to look bad dancing with her,” Roy replied, “Were you watching me dance?”

Ed blushed, “N-Not like- I just saw- don’t make this fucking weird! You know what? Yeah, let's go dance,” Ed stood hastily and grabbed Roy’s arm whilst the older man laughed at him.

They moved into the throng of dancers in between songs so they were able to somewhat gain their bearings when the next tune began. Ed wasn’t a bad dancer. In fact, he was surprisingly good, if not a bit uncomfortable, but that all really came down to experience. 

The dances grew longer, and they all began to blur into one, with he and Ed following the steps of the crowd the whole while and laughing at each other when they messed up. 

Roy didn’t really know how it happened, but he and Ed were dancing in the ballroom at one point, and then somehow found their way back onto the deserted balcony, and then he was kissing Ed against a wall. The music’s orderly and elegant tempo hardly matched the pace of their kiss- on Ed’s part it was almost desperate, whilst on Roy’s, it was an astounding relief. 

Later, they would have to talk, and Roy would probably have to ask Ed exactly how close he and this ‘other Roy’ were to each other. They may just hook up for a night, or allow their feeling to flourish into something more.

But that could come later. 

{END}


End file.
